7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
660 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 10/29/2016. Bottle code L302161A. Pours slightly hazy deep orange/copper/light reddish color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, raisin, plum, fig, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, whiskey, toasted oak, biscuit, and brown bread; with light notes of nuts, leather, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and light-moderate Irish whiskey barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, raisin, plum, fig, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, whiskey, toasted oak, biscuit, and brown bread; with light notes of nuts, leather, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/grassy hop and whiskey/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, raisin, plum, fig, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, whiskey, toasted oak, biscuit, brown bread, nuts, leather, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and light-moderate Irish whiskey barrel flavors; with a solid malt/bitterness and whiskey/oak spiciness balance; and no cloying flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and whiskey/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, and lightly sticky/tannic mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol for 6.5%. Overall this is a very nice barrel aged Irish red ale. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and light-moderate Irish whiskey barrel flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish. Great balance of nicely rich malts and fruity yeast complexity; with nice barrel presence/integration. Not a lot of barrel, but adequate enough. A very enjoyable offering, and well made base style example.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Nov 2018
at 02:27