Bourbon Barrel Monster 29

2013 vintage; not sure if there are others?Aroma is fairly nice with some dark caramel and toffee along with lighter notes of chocolate and faint roast. Some dark fruit notes of raisins, prunes, plums and cherries. The fruit is moderate but secondary to the malt notes. Moderately strong bourbon and lighter oak and vanilla notes. Pours a dark brown, but with some ruby highlights as well. Absolutely no head at all though there was a faint hiss when I opened the bottle. It doesn?t form legs so much as sheets of alcohol. Flavor is somewhat similar to the regular Monster 29 and not as impressive as the aroma. Very sweet caramel and toffee notes with some moderate chocolate notes. Somewhat like a darker tootsie roll. Some dark fruit - plum and prune mostly with some cherries. Bourbon is lighter but present with faint oak and vanilla. Its not until the finish that the alcohol cuts through the sweetness. Find sh has alcohol but still quite a bit of lingering sweetness with some dark caramel notes. Flavor also has a hint of astringency and moderate bitterness.Mouthfeel is full bodied and viscous with almost zero carbonation; this beer would make Tomme Arthur jealous for its lack of carbonation and it some ways it reminds me of a much larger and sweeter Angel?s Share. Medium low astringency and medium high alcohol warmth. The alcohol cuts through the stickiness but there is tons of sugary slickness. Overall an acceptable beer, but I have a feeling they missed their attenuation levels (along with their carbonation levels); it is just so over the top sweet. Good dark fruit notes that are strong but work in the background. Surprisingly less bourbon than I expected. The malt profile could use a bit more complexity. I?m not a huge fan of this beer if it wasn?t apparent at this point in time.

375mL bottle, pours a deep dark mahogany / amber with almost no head. Aroma brings out rich caramel notes, deep dark fruits, sweetness and a little booze - very rich. Flavour is exceedingly rich, full of bourbon, caramel, some toffee, minimal booze and sweetness. Very rich, medium sweet and not actually that boozy. The bourbon barrels cut down on the sweetness big time, making this much easier to drink than the base beer -- which is surprising for a boozy BBA barley wine. Great stuff.

Sampled at EBF. Pours a watery, mahogany amber with one ring of beige head. Nose of booze, fruit, raisins, whiskey, caramel, fig. Flavor is sweet, prune, raisin, candy sugar, tropical fruit, coconut. Full, sweet finish.

Bottle thanks to Kyle! Pours a hazy deep caramel with a thin gray head that dissipates quickly to the edges. Aroma is full of sweet grains and caramel with a nice supporting bourbon note and a hint of fruits. Flavor has caramel throughout with a sweet grain backbone and a good amount of bourbon. Not overly boozy.