7.6/10
—
Appearance 9
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 7.5
500ml @ Phill's shared with Farees, Josh, and Ryan. Side by side share of II, III, and IV.
Aroma: inky, a bit sweet, noticeable barrel.
Taste: along the same lines, inky, roasty, some dark fruits. Finishes with roasty bitterness.
Overall: pleasant, tastes smoother than II and III to me.
Aroma: inky, a bit sweet, noticeable barrel.
Taste: along the same lines, inky, roasty, some dark fruits. Finishes with roasty bitterness.
Overall: pleasant, tastes smoother than II and III to me.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Jan 2026
at 05:46
7.9/10
—
Appearance 9
Aroma 8
Flavor 7.5
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
500ml @ Phill's shared with Farees, Josh, and Ryan. Side by side share of II, III, and IV.
Aroma: barrel, inky (less than II, though), some sweetness.
Taste: along the same lines, a lot of barrel, roasty and moderately sweet. A little bit of berries.
Overall: enjoyable, smoother than II.
Aroma: barrel, inky (less than II, though), some sweetness.
Taste: along the same lines, a lot of barrel, roasty and moderately sweet. A little bit of berries.
Overall: enjoyable, smoother than II.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Jan 2026
at 05:36
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Dark brown. Similar fruity, roasty base but there’s more nuttiness to this aroma. The barrel is balanced here. The base is still a bit light, so the barrel lacks integration.
Tried
on 02 Jan 2026
at 05:34
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Dark brown. A touch fruity, light roast on the nose. On the palate, this is also fairly light. The barrel is a bit rougher around the edges, but it’s a bit better integrated - some soy sauce and toffee sugar notes come out a bit.
Tried
on 02 Jan 2026
at 05:33
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Dark brown. The aroma here is fruity, with a bit of roast. Medium body for style, a bit slick from lack of carbonation. The barrel is okay - but there’s something here where the sugars aren’t rich enough so the barrel sort of sits over top in a hot, non-integrated way.
Tried
on 02 Jan 2026
at 05:32
7.5/10
—
Appearance 9
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 7
500ml @ Phill's shared with Farees, Josh, and Ryan. Side by side share of II, III, and IV.
Aroma: inky, some roasted malt and sweetness, a bit of fruity character.
Taste: along the same lines, dusty, a bit smoky, noticeable sweetness and bitterness. Finishes with some black chcocolate notes.
Overall: quite good, but that inky roasted bitterness is not really my thing.
Aroma: inky, some roasted malt and sweetness, a bit of fruity character.
Taste: along the same lines, dusty, a bit smoky, noticeable sweetness and bitterness. Finishes with some black chcocolate notes.
Overall: quite good, but that inky roasted bitterness is not really my thing.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Jan 2026
at 05:24
8.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Poured from 500mL bottle - side x side x side with Blend II and III. Very dark brown with minimal beige head. Woody bourbon, boozy, some dark molasses underneath. This is the most complex of the three, quite enjoyable.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Kilter Brewing Co.
on 02 Jan 2026
at 04:58
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Poured from 500mL bottle - side x side x side with Blend II and IV. Very dark brown with minimal beige head. The woodiest and booziest of the three, the base also seems to have less complexity despite presumably all being the same base. Hot and a bit thinner, my least favourite of the three. Okay.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Kilter Brewing Co.
on 02 Jan 2026
at 04:58
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Poured from 500mL bottle - side x side x side with Blend III and IV. Very dark brown with minimal beige head. Mild woody bourbon, light booziness, feint chocolate. Quite nice, just under the Heaven Hill barrel in my opinion based on these three.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Kilter Brewing Co.
on 02 Jan 2026
at 04:57
7.4/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 7.5
Dark brown. Thin head. This one's fairly boozy on the nose, but with a touch of apple. Light body, thin, and ultimately dominated by apple brandy. So a light-bodied, alcoholic fruity barley wine. It's not a bad beer, there's some good complexity but it seems like they left some upside on the table here.
Tried
on 19 Dec 2025
at 07:56