Re-rate - bottled release - thank God Scott tweaked this one for the bottle release - the beer still seems to have lost a lot of its carbontion, but that makes for a slicker mouthfeel, that actually works well for the beer - rum is still fairly apparent in the aroma, as are the woody notes from the barrel, but it’s far from overkill like the cask was - kind of tannic up front, with some hints of oxidation and char/burnt qualities - a bit of chocolate sweetness comes to the fore, but is quickly subdued by an oaky, dry quality, after which the rum makes its presence known - a lot of the original beer is still washed out by the barrel, but the flavors that take their place are much more well-integrated/balanced - still a bit boozy in the finish - perhaps rum barrels are not meant for aging beer, or at least not beers such as porters - [original rating, 2.2]Cask at Barcade - excuse me, barkeep! - I’d like a Rum and Porter please - how do you make it? - why you simply mix three fifths rum and 2 fifths porter and swish it around a bit with a popsicle stick or tongue depressor - sure it tastes awful, but it gets the job done! - (I guess what I’m getting at here is that this beer really did taste like someone spilled some beer into a vat of rum and decided to serve it to the public - the rum overpowers to the point that you forget you’re supposed to be drinking a beer - the strange thing is, the beer wasn’t really heavy, overly sweet, or boozy in the traditional sense - it just burned and tasted like cheap rum with a slight bit of chocolate and smoke way in the background - a HUGE let down, especially after the quality of the wine barrel version - I love that this brewer is doing new and creative things, but this was a complete failure.)

From 75 cL bottle. Pours very deep brown with two finger tall light brown head. Aroma of roasted malt, slight earthy and yeasty. Flavour is malty, chocolate, bitter/sour to slight citric flavour blending with the a bourbon flavour of the alcohol. Thick alcohol mouthfeel. Strangely spicy and liqourice in the finish. I did not sense elderberries at all.

Bottled. A pitch black beer with a brown shine under a lazing brown head. The aroma is sweet malty with notes of brown sugar and prunes as well as hints of bourbon. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of caramel and oranges and again a light touch of bourbon. The alcohol is felt on the sides of the tongue.

Sample from handbottle from tap. Pours golden amber. Aroma is sweet citric aroma. Starts sweey citric and turns quickly strong fruity and flowery before it gets bitter into the finish.

(Handbottle 35,5 cl) Courtesy of moejuck. Hazy, amber golden with a small, off-white head. Distinct aroma of citrus and pine. Fairly full in body with lightly sweet malts and plenty of citrus and peach notes. A lovely aroma bitterness in the finish. 060407

750mL bottle @ Blind Tiger poured into a tulip glass. Well, I don’t know what the rest of you drank but this was definitely a Brett bomb. That signature sour cherry Brett was all over this. It felt like a fresh Heavyweight Ste-ve mixed with a heavy porter/light stout. There was a good thick body and a nice roastiness behind all this. In the taste I even felt a bit of smoke (which has been missing from this beer for a while now). Slightly under-carbonated with a heavy body adds to a monumental mouthfeel. Even though it seems like the brett was a mistake it makes for a crazy beer adventure.8/4/7/4/15.

Re-rate - Batch 2. Knowing the gushing power of this beer it sat in the fridge for 2 weeks. Then carefully it was popped open over a sink into a large Regenboog tulip. Then to play it safe into another glass. With maybe an inch of beer left in the bottle the foam rose twice the length. But I did a fine job (hooray me!). I was anxious to give this another shot since I thought I was a bit hurried in my first review. Which made perfect sense with my first sniff and taste because I was blown back by the audacity of this beer. This was an overbearing and over-carbonated, everything-thats-wrong-with-US-brewers bad. I mean I was thinking of dumping this. It was a mix of strong paint thinner brett, it was shooting into my nostrils, there were crazy tannins and lots of overly sweet chocolate. My first though was this was going down to like a 3. Luckily, I put this down and went to the bathroom. I came back and decided I will begin to bash this beer. Luckily, like a fine wine this breathed and mellowed. I guess the barrels have a way of doing that. Aroma was not the strongest aspect, I still get lots of roastiness and a slightly cheap/paint thinner brettiness. I don’t think they meld well together but just the union of such disparate items is cool enough (especially for a young American brewer). Taste is where the beer shines. The brett presents in sparkling wildness and lots of young fruit/cherry flavors. It dissipates quickly on the tongue and leaves a light sweet, faint tobacco porter roast. With some seltzer in the finish and you get a lovely drink easy for quaffing.7/4/8/4/16

Slightly hazy reddish-brown beer with a pastel yellow, fine and thick head. Piney, resiny hops and milk chocolate nose. Spruce or fir tree wood & needles. In the background some bitter chocolate as well, and dark (decidous) leaves. Very Walloon in character: chocolate, just a bit of mild coffee, very leafy, earthy, and still some fir tree, but less resinous than the nose. Maybe a tad more hoppy than its Walloon forebears, as well as bitter almonds extra. Quite bitter aftertaste, becoming dry. Medium to well bodied. Well attenuated, maybe a bit more than a usual Belgian dubbel. Very good Belgian dark strong ale. I wouldn’t call it a double - then I only would call Westmalle and La Trappe as such. White Labs or Wyeast N°...? Many thanks to Brian.