From a mixed holiday pack. Canned 11/29/2022, drank on 1/5/2023.
Strong sweet aroma, almost smell a little alcohol heat. No bitterness bite, but a strong hop sweetness comes in quickly, which is then replaced by a yeast sweetness. Aftertaste is fairly mellow with some sweetness mix of hops, yeast, and malt. In the background you can tell there’s some alcohol waiting to catch up with you (9.5%).
Rich, roast aroma, very nice. Flavorful, with no bitter bite, of dark malt. Very smooth with a good amount of dark malt flavor complexity. Finishes dry, with just hints of the dark malt lingering in the background.
Strong sweet hop aroma that’s really thick like ripe fruit. Slightly crisp bite of hop bitterness immediately replaced by a fluffy smoothness. Leaves a slightly tart hop flavor on the palate, intended with flavors of mango.
Smell of slightly dark, sweet malts. Taste is crisp and then malt sweetness rushes in. Finishes very dry, with hints of dark malts lingering in the back of the mouth.
My last rating on this was from 9 years ago, so figured I’d do another review to see if the beer has changed, or my taste buds. This one was bottled on 9/7/2022, treated on 12/19/2022.
Strong sweet aroma slightly of dark malt, but mostly of bourbon barrel. Mouthfeel is fairly liquid-y, not thick or heavy. Gives me much more of an impression of drinking a bourbon rather than a beer. Slightly dark malt and candied sugar tasting. Bourbon flavor/aroma is present, but not overly strong. These are all tasting notes when beer is very cold, right out of the fridge. Will let it sit some and warm a bit.
Slight sweet aroma of slightly roasty malt. Slightly sweet taste with some caramel malt flavor, which quickly gets swept aside for a dry roast flavor. Finishes fairly clean, with a slight lingering of roasted malt and a touch of yeast sweetness.
Fresh, sticky hop aroma. Crisp bite that’s full flavor of hops, mild caramel malt sweetness, and a touch of yeast. The yeast then comes in with a drying effect and wipes the palate, leaving hints of the up front flavors lingering altogether.
Bright, cheery hop aroma. Slightly crisp initial flavor which quickly gives way to a luscious sweetness. Finishes fairly clean on the palate except for a very mild lingering sweetness of light malt and yeast.
Aroma of faint dark malt. Slightly thick sweet maltiness in first taste, which immediately translates to a dryness, with some hop flavor coming in on the backside. Leaves palate fairly clear with a hint of dark malt sweetness and some hop bitterness. Very tasty.
Smell of syrupy French toast. First taste is interesting, but strange. Slight alcohol-y bourbon taste with syrup in the background. Doesn’t really taste like a beer, just kind of an alcohol laden sweet drink of some sort.
2.5 out of 5 stars.
Craft beer and homebrew from a Michigan perspective.