Category Archives: Tasting Notes

These are my thoughts about various beers that I taste. Not as thorough as a review, but more than just casual drinking.

Summit Unchained #8: Black Ale

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Whether you call them Black IPAs, Cascadian Dark Ales, or American-style Black Ales, bitter, hoppy, black beers are becoming more and more popular with brewers and beer fans alike. What had been a fringe phenomenon has become a true emerging style. Production breweries and brewpubs are turning them out all over the country.

Honestly, it is a style that I have had difficulty embracing. The combination of high-level bitterness, intensely-citrusy American hop flavor, and acrid, roasted malts creates an unpleasant partnership in my mouth. There are a couple examples that I like – 21st Amendment’s Back in Black comes to mind – but in general, these are not beers that I am likely to pick up at the store or order at a bar.

It is with this caveat that I offer my impressions of the latest offering in the Summit Unchained Series, Black Ale. Here’s my notes:

Unchained #8: Black Ale
Summit Brewing Company, St. Paul, Minnesota
Style: Black IPA
Serving Style: 12 oz bottle

Aroma: Light chocolate and roast underlie citrusy orange and grapefruit hops. A bit of bread crust.

Appearance: Ample, creamy, tan head that sticks around, maintaining a foamy layer from start to finish. Very dark brown to black.

Flavor: Sharply and somewhat astringently bitter, with intense grapefruit and orange hop flavor. The hop bitterness is enhanced by the bitterness of roasted malt. The malt character is primarily coffee-like roast with light sweetness that increases as the beer warms. The finish is dry, lingering on coffee and juicy grapefruit. The bitterness grabs hold at the start and is the last thing to let go.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with prickly carbonation. A touch astringent.

Overall Impression: This beer has that particular combination of bitterness, black malt, and citrusy hops that sits uncomfortably on my tongue. The high level of attenuation enhances that. I could do with more malty sweetness to balance the hop and roasted-malt bitterness. A hint of chocolate would give the citrus a pleasing foil. As it is, it is a well-made beer, just not one that suits my tastes.

Schell’s Stag Series #4: Burton Ale

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It’s hard to know what a real Burton Ale might have tasted like. The style, once among the most popular in England, pretty much died out 60 years ago. One is left with only old descriptions and brewer’s logs to try and piece together a facsimile. That is exactly what Dave Berg at August Schell Brewing Company did to create the fourth beer in the brewery’s Stag Series.

I’m not going to load this post down with a lengthy history of Burton Ale. You can read what British beer writer Martyn Cornell had to say about the style on the Zythophile blog.  Or you can really geek out about it with brewer’s logs and recipes on the Shut Up About Barklay Perkins blog. I’ll let those guys do that. I’m just going to tell you my impression of the Schell’s version and leave it at that.

Here’s my notes:

Stag Series #4: Burton Ale
August Schell Brewing Co., New Ulm, Minnesota
Style: Burton Ale
Serving Style: 12 oz Bottle

Aroma: Sweet and toasty malt takes center stage with overtones of caramel, figs, and just the slightest suggestion of citrus. Earthy hops remain in the background.

Appearance: Clear. Dark amber to mahogany colored. Good stand of rocky, beige foam that persisted reasonably well.

Flavor: The main event is sweet malt, redolent with flavors of molasses, brown sugar, caramel, figs and raisins. A light impression of chocolate enters midway through. Earthy and citrus hop flavors seem to float on another layer along with prickly, minerally bitterness. The bitterness balances, but sweetness rules. The finish is spectacular, well-attenuated, but sweet. It seems to go on forever with successive waves of molasses, figs, raisins, and even anise.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Thick and smooth. Medium carbonation. Light alcohol warming.

Overall Impression: Man, what a finish!! It was great in my mouth, but still I could hardly wait to swallow every sip. The flavor layers are clearly articulated. Some may find this beer too sweet, but I love malt and this really showcases malt. It’s a bit like an overly-hopped, English Doppelbock.

Steel Toe Brewing Co. – Dissent

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I really do intend to get back to my GABF coverage. There is still so much to talk about. I’ve got video interviews to post, along with pictures and audio from the big 30th Anniversary dinner. But in the mean time here’s this.

Steel Toe Brewing Co. in St. Louis Park opened its doors just a couple of months ago. It’s the newest in a coterie of recently-opened Minnesota breweries, a group that will continue to grow by leaps and bounds in the coming months. I was particularly excited about Steel Toe because of the brewing background of co-owner and brewer Jason Schoneman. He brings with him a load of experience, including several years as Head Brewer at the award-winning Pelican Brewpub in Oregon. I visited this brewpub-on-the-beach a few years ago and found it to be well worth the acclaim.

Jason aims to make beers that are big on flavor, but that don’t necessarily fit any style. He launched with four beers. Provider is a light, easy-drinking golden ale that I love and that I lately have been pouring a lot of at events. Two that I have yet to try are Rainmaker, an Imperial Red Ale, and Size 7 IPA. I hear good things. Finally is Dissent Black Ale. I picked up a bottle of this recently and just got around to giving it a whirl. Here’s my notes:

Dissent
Steel Toe Brewing Co., St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Style: Black Ale (?)
Serving Style: 22 oz bottle

Aroma: Brown sugar and molasses. Some coffee roast and light caramel. Licorice and earthy hops.

Appearance: Black and thick. Good-sized, dark-tan head that was moderately persistent.

Flavor: Rich bittersweet chocolate at the top. Like cocoa nibs and coffee. Orange and grapefruit-rind citrus notes float over the top, making it almost like an orange-flavored porter. It’s rich, but well-attenuated, which keeps it very drinkable. Bitterness is moderate, but lingers after swallowing. As the beer warms, molasses flavors become ever more prominent.

Mouthfeel: Thick and rich with relatively low carbonation.

Overall Impression: This would be great with a big rack of saucy, barbeque ribs. In fact, my girlfriend said that the aroma initially reminded her of barbeque sauce – all sweetness and molasses. It’s a big, chewy, malty, black ale that remains remarkably drinkable. It starts and ends great, but I kept feeling like there was some kind of hole in the middle. While I know that this is not helpful, I couldn’t quite put a finger in what was missing. Guess I’ll have to pick up another bottle and work on that some more.

 

Huvila Arctic Circle Ale

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My friend Mark and I have been trying for some time to re-create a traditional Finnish Sahti. The process has made me a bit obsessed with the style. I like to try any and all commercial examples I can find. Some get pretty close to the “sahti from a bucket” that Mark describes from a bar visit in Finland. Others are good beer, but they’re not really sahti. Huvila Arctic Circle Ale is one that gets pretty close to the real thing.  Here’s my notes:

Arctic Circle Ale
Malmgårdin Panimo, Malmgård, Finland
Style: Sahti
Serving Style: 16 oz bottle

Aroma: Copious caramel and melanoidin malt. Dark rye-bread crusts. Vaguely woody spruce notes in the background, but very light. Black licorice and molasses. Sweet. A bit like Nyquil, but in a good way.

Appearance: Drinking it out of a hotel paper cup. I can’t see it. Seems to be dark brown, but I can’t really tell. The tan head is very creamy and super long-lasting. Leaves not just lace, but thick rings of foam on the cup.

Flavor: Malt is the main player, and thick, rich malt it is. Burnt caramel and melanoidins carry over from the aroma. Black Strap molasses. The spicy bite of rye moderates the sweetness, stimulating my memories of great German Roggenbrot (man I miss the bread in Germany).  Juniper offers woody spruce and gin notes in the background. Never takes over. Alcohol is apparent even though it is just a hint over 7%. Fleeting tastes of bitter cocoa nibs and dried, dark fruits. Bitterness is low, just enough to keep it from being cloying.

Mouthfeel: Thick, rich, and creamy with low carbonation. Warming alcohol.

Overall Impression: A bit like rye bread smeared with molasses and sprinkled with spruce needles. It gives the impression of a beer that is much stronger than it is. Based on traditional sahti, an ancient Finnish brew that is still made much as it was 500 years ago, Arctic Circle Ale is a heavy-duty, throw-back of a winter warmer from above the Arctic Circle. Sip and savor.

 

Stone 15th Anniversary Escondidian Black IPA

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In calling its 15th anniversary beer an Escondidian Black IPA, Stone Brewing Co. took an intentional jab at the silly debate over what to call black and bitter beers; Cascadian Dark Ale or Black IPA. As it is the first Imperial version of this up-and-coming style (that I know of), I suppose it is within their rights to claim origins in Escondido.

It’s a big bruiser of a black and bitter beer. Weighing in at 10.8% ABV and 100 IBU. I have to say that my experience of this beer may have been tainted by the fact that I was really in the mood for a saison. This is not a saison. I let myself get talked into opening the bottle. With that in mind, here’s my notes:

Stone 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA
Stone Brewing Co, San Diego, California
Style: Imperial Black IPA
Serving Style: 22 oz bottle

Aroma: Immediate hit of big pine and citrus hops; grapefruits and tangerines. Underneath lies dusky roast and bitter coffee. Imperial stout-like with bold American hops.

Appearance: Opaque black. Full and long-lasting creamy tan head.

Flavor: Hops hit first on the tip of the tongue; a shockwave of bitterness, tangerines, and pine. Mid-palate the malt rushes in bringing bold coffee and bitter chocolate flavors. Sweetness fights with the bitterness and nearly wins. The finish leaves lingering blackstrap molasses and hop bitterness amplified by burnt roasted flavors. Throughout a mix of pith and pine, sweet tar and roast.

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied and a bit astringent. Medium carbonation.

Overall Impression: Is this a hoppy imperial stout or a sweet and strong black IPA? I don’t usually hang on styles, but if forced to choose I’d go with the former. It’s big. It’s thick. It’s boldly roasty and bitter. Only the extra-intense hop flavor and aroma tell me that this is something other than an RIS. While the coffee/chocolate/tangerine blend was pleasant, it slapped me around a bit more than I wanted.

A Quartet of New Ciders from Crispin

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Crispin Cider Company has some interesting products in the pipeline. Four new ciders are to be released in the coming weeks, including three new pear ciders in the Fox Barrel line and a new Artisanal Reserve unfiltered apple cider from the Crispin brand.

New Crispin Artisanal Reserve Release

Ch?-Tokky? means “super express” in Japanese. It is the original name of the Japanese bullet trains. It is also the name of the newest Artisanal Reserve cider from Crispin. A continuation of Crispin’s yeast experiments that started with The Saint, an apple cider fermented with Abbey Ale yeast, Ch?-Tokky? is fermented with Sake yeast. A bit of rice syrup is added both as a nod to the main ingredient of sake and to lighten the body and dry out the finish. Here’s my notes:

Ch?-Tokky?
Crispin Cider Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Style: Apple cider fermented with sake yeast
Serving Style: 22 oz bottle

Aroma: A blend of fresh and cooked sweet apples. Vinous and floral with earthy background notes.

Appearance: Pale yellow and very cloudy. Reminds me of beeswax. Fine bubbles.

Flavor: Sweet up front with lingering acidity on the backside. Very dry finish from rice syrup addition. Cooked apple flavors don’t dominate. They are balanced by the yeast characer. Floral Floral Floral. A bit vinous, white grape. Earthy.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied but with yeasty fullness. Carbonation was lower than expected.

Overall Impression: Very unique. Floral and earthy flavors were nice, but the floral was a bit more than I wanted. Not my favorite of the Artisanal Reserve ciders, but worth the experiment.

New Fruity Pear Ciders from Fox Barrel

For those who don’t know, the Fox Barrel Cidery in Colfax, California is where Crispin ciders have been made from the beginning. A couple of years ago Crispin bought Fox Barrel. They have done good things with the brand. For one, the Fox Barrel brand is now completely focused on pear ciders made from 100% fresh-pressed pear juice. If you have never had a real pear cider, it’s worth checking out.

Crispin is introducing a new line of unfiltered and “naked” pear ciders under the Fox Barrel label, similar in feel to the Artisanal Reserve Crispin ciders. Three new ones will be released soon; Wild Orchard Naked Pear Cider, Fox Barrel Cidery Reserve Rhubarb and Elderberry, and Fox Barrel Cidery Reserve Ginger & Black Current. Here’s my notes:

Wild Orchard
Fox Barrel Cider Company, Colfax, California
Style: Unfiltered perry fermented with champagne yeast
Serving Style: 22 oz bottle

Aroma: A burst of fruity pear with floral highlights. It’s great just smelling it.

Appearance: Unexpectedly clear for unfiltered cider. Crystal clear I would say, despite swirling pre-pour. Light golden color.

Flavor: Like eating a pear and drinking champagne. Lightly vinous. Huge fruit. Pear, pear, pear. Starts sweet with gentle tart acidity in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied and lightly spritzy.

Overall Impression: WOW! You owe it to yourself to check this out.

Fox Barrel Cidery Reserve Rhubarb and Elderberry
Style: Unfiltered pear cider with rhubarb and elderberry
Serving Style: 22 oz bottle

Aroma: All pears and berries. Light at first and getting stronger as it warms. So much berry. Grape Jolly Rancher. Elderberry Jam. Sweet and tart.

Appearance: Maroon purple and cloudy with light fizz. Pretty to look at. Fine pink foam.

Flavor: A burst of fruit; berry, pear. Grape Jolly Rancher comes back from the aroma. It has the exact sweet/tart blend of that candy. Not a bad thing. Pear provides a foundation. Dark berry flavors add depth. Rhubarb comes in as an afterthought to bring a bright, tart finish. Nicely layered. You taste all the ingredients.

Mouthfeel: Light body and lightly carbonated.

Overall Impression: A bit of an alco-pop, but who cares. I would drink a lot of it. This would be great with desert. If you like Lindemans Fruit Lambics, you will like this.

Fox Barrel Cidery Reserve Ginger & Black Current
Style: Perry with ginger and black current
Serving Style: 22 oz bottle

Aroma: Apples and berries at first. An explosion of fruit. Fresh and cold from the fridge the ginger remains in the background. It comes on strong thought as the cider warms.

Appearance: Maroon and murky. Fine bubble rise to the top of the glass.

Flavor: The explosion of fruit in the aroma carries over to the flavor. Simply bursting with fruit. Pears and currents fight for dominance, but neither ever really wins. Similar to the aroma, the ginger is subdued at first, but gets stronger as it warms. Still, it remains in balance, never overwhelming the fruit. Always just at the edge. A bit of ginger bite sees the cider out the door. Hits the front of the tongue first with sweetness but tart takes over in the finish. Lingering current and ginger. Delightful and refreshing.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied, but with a yeasty fullness. Spritzy.

Overall Impression: Another fruity alco-pop that I would gladly drink bottle after bottle. Fresh-pressed fruit yields fresh fruit flavor.

Summit Silver Anniversary Ale: A Sneak Peek

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Summit Brewing Company turns 25 this year. It’s quite a milestone for the craft beer pioneer. There wasn’t much happening beer-wise in the upper-Midwest in 1986 when Mark Stutrud got the harebrained idea to open a brewery that would make beers with actual flavor. This was hardcore American lager country; Bud, Miller, or here in Minnesota maybe Grain Belt, Schmidt, or Hamm’s. But start the brewery he did and 25 years later it is going strong with annual production approaching 100,000 barrels and multiple national and international awards, including GABF and World Beer Cup medals last year for their original and still flagship beer Extra Pale Ale.

Of course the brewery is releasing a beer to commemorate the milestone. Silver Anniversary Ale is inspired by the beer that started it all, that same Extra Pale Ale. It has been described to me as a kind of hopped-up EPA. In a piece on the Summit Website, brewer Damian McConn says of the beer:

Using the EPA malt bill and yeast strain as a foundation, we’ll retain the balance that Summit’s beers are famous for, while providing more distinctive flavors and aromas through the use of unique modern hop varieties and assertive dry-hopping. Grapefruit, passionfruit and kiwi aromas should lead to a pronounced but crisp bitterness with minimal contributions from the yeast. A clean, complex finish, underscored by a straightforward blend of pale and crystal malts.

I had the opportunity to give it a pre-release taste test. Here’s my notes:

Silver Anniversary Ale
Summit Brewing Company, St. Paul, Minnesota
Style: IPA
Serving Style: 12 oz Bottle

Aroma: Caramel sweetness with touches of biscuit. Fresh pine, herbal, and grapefruit hops.

Appearance: Medium-amber and crystal clear. Modest, white head that did not persist.

Flavor: Greets you with an initial blast of cool pine-resin hops and a sharp bite of bitterness. The hops smoothly give way to a caramel-malt counterpoint without ever quite letting go. This beer is built for bitterness, but it’s not unbalanced. Sharp and crisp. As it warms the sweet, biscuity malt fills in gaps, but still doesn’t overtake the hops. Whiffs of orange float in the background. The finish is dry with long-lingering bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Crisp. Medium carbonation.

Overall Impression: I think I would call this one a hybrid Amero-English IPA. It’s got the rich, caramel/biscuit malt of an English IPA or an ESB, but the hop character and bitterness of an American IPA. Still, it’s less aggressive than some American hop bombs. I found it to be beautifully balanced with delicious hop and malt flavors.

Silver Anniversary Celebrations

Silver Anniversary Ale is scheduled for release the week of July 25th. Of course there will be release week events. Here they are:

  • Monday, July 25: Mackenzie’s, 5-7 p.m. (First 25 beers served are free and then $.25 taps until 7 p.m.)
  • Monday, July 25: Liquor Lyle’s, 7:30-9 p.m. ($.25 taps of the Silver Anniversary Ale and 2 for 1 deals on all other Summit beers)
  • Tuesday, July 26: Groveland Tap, 6-8 p.m. ($.25 taps of the Silver Anniversary Ale)
  • Thursday, July 28: Specials served at Sweeney’s, 4-6 p.m.
  • Friday, July 29: Beer Dinner celebrating Summit’s 25th anniversary at Tracy’s Saloon & Eatery, 7 p.m. (Pints will be on special in the bar as well).

Summit will have an Anniversary bash at the brewery on September 10th. Tickets go on sale on July 25th at 10:00 AM. Check here for details.

SAVOR Flowers from Sam Adams and Dogfish Head

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A most interesting beer crossed my path. SAVOR Flowers was a collaborative effort of Boston Beer Company and Dogfish Head. It was created for and exclusively served at SAVOR, the Brewers Association’s annual beer and food bash in Washington, DC. Flowers is a beer befitting the Kings of extreme. The press release says of it:

Jim (Koch) and Sam (Calagione) decided to tackle beer’s previously untapped ingredient – water – and, through and age-old distillation process, created a rosewater base to be used as the main liquid in the brew. The rosewater inspired them to continue to explore the idea of brewing with flowers. After experimenting with a range of varieties, they landed on dried lavender, hibiscus, jasmine and rosebuds mixed in during the brewing process to further enhance the beer’s botanical qualities. As well, on his annual hop selection trip to Bavaria last year, Jim learned about a new hop breed known only as #369, grown for its amped-up floral notes. He was able to obtain 30 pounds of this unique variety from the Yakima, Wash. growing region, adding another dimension to this complex brew.

After all that they aged it in “Barrel One – the same bourbon barrel Jim used to age the premier batch of the first ‘extreme’ beer, Samuel Adams® Triple Bock.” Wow! WTF. Here’s my notes:

SAVOR Flowers
Boston Beer Company & Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales
Style: Vegetable, Herb, Spice Beer
Serving Style: 22 oz Bottle

Aroma: Granny’s soap. Floral. Lavender, roses, and hibiscus. Like walking into a Body Works store at the mall.

Appearance: Cloudy. The color is a vaguely pink amber. Fluffy white head that was moderately persistent.

Flavor: This beer changed throughout the tasting. It started off sharp and planty; roses and lavender with light tart background notes of hibiscus. Bitterness was unexpectedly high, but then what led me to otherwise? High levels of herbal/floral hops emphasized the flowers. As it warmed a rich caramel maltiness crept in, underpinned by raisins and dark fruit. This didn’t reduce the botanical flavors in the least. It merely gave them something on which to rest. Still warmer, it took on almost Belgian cotton-candy flavors; sweet, but still finishing dry with hints of licorice and geraniums. I guessed around 8% ABV. Actually 10%.

Mouthfeel: Medium-high body. Somewhat syrupy as it warms. Medium carbonation.

Overall Impression: This was a most unique beer. Did I like it? “Like” is such a limiting term. I found it irresistibly intriguing. While I don’t know that I would run out to buy a bottle were it available, the beer’s complexity compelled me, almost against my better judgement, to finish this one. My initial impression was one of admiring the effort and creativity, but not so much the beer. But it grew on me. The endless layers of flavors that came in as the beer warmed grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go. But did I like it? Hmmmm……..

Alaskan IPA Revisited

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In January 2009 I posted tasting notes for Alaskan IPA. I remember that I had a cold that day. I did a string of tastings and even noted in some of them that my taster may have been off. Looking back at those notes it seems that I liked it, but it didn’t really stand out to me as anything particularly special.

What a difference two years makes. I had a bottle and decided it would be interesting to do another set of notes. It just goes to prove something that I always say; you can’t put too much stock in reviews. So many things influence how a beer tastes on a given day. Then I was sick in Palo Alto, California. It was winter and while not cold, it got somewhat chilly at night. Today it’s 95 degrees with a heat index of 109 degrees. That kind of weather is more like IPA weather for me. I’m not stuffed-up today. And I have two more years under my belt of paying close attention to the beer that I’m drinking. I’m sure my palate has changed. The beer may have changed as well.

I found it interesting to compare my two experiences. I thought I would post the two sets of notes together. So here’s my notes from then and now:

Alaskan IPA
Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau, Alaska
Style: American IPA
Serving Style: 22 oz bottle

Aroma 2009: Citrus and pine American hops
Aroma 2011: Bread and graham cracker. Hop aroma is light but bright and citrusy. Grapefruit and tangerines.

Appearance 2009: Light amber/deep gold. Lighter than expected, must be mostly base malts. Fluffy and persistent white head.
Appearance 2011: Dark golden with full and persistent white to off-white head. Clear.

Flavor 2009: Grainy malt with very light caramel balanced by pine and citrus hops. Medium-high bitterness and hop flavor is lower than expected and allows the malt to shine through.
Flavor 2011: Delicate, balanced, sharp and clear. The mild, grainy and slightly sweet malt just balances the hops. Very well attenuated. Bright, citrusy, grapefruit-pith hops. Background notes of tropical fruit and tangerine. Medium-high bitterness, but balanced. Get the hop flavor without the bitterness. Finishes extra-dry with grapefruit and tropical fruit lingering. So delicate and yet still bold.

Mouthfeel 2009: Medium body. Medium carbonation.
Mouthfeel 2011: Medium body and medium carbonation.

Overall Impression 2009: A solid IPA. Nice malt with lighter than expected hops. I think I have come to expect “greatness” from Alaskan Brewing and this was not “great”. It was just a good IPA. That said, I would certainly have a couple more.
Overall Impression 2011: Sometimes you taste a beer and it says to you, “I am great.” It’s a combination of things like complexity, clarity, and delicacy. This beer has it, at least for me today. For my own part I would like a bit more malt, but that’s just me. I like malt. It is not an overly complex beer. In fact it’s probably less complex than some other IPAs. But it is really well made. The folks at Alaskan really do know how to make beer.

Samuel Adams Utopias 2011

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I have somehow been fortunate in my life. Maybe I’ve just been a good boy. I have had the opportunity to taste every vintage of Samuel Adams Utopias. The super-strong, cognac-like extreme beer has been released every odd-numbered year since 2002. It is constructed from a blend of different barrel-aged beers some of which date back to the original vintage of Triple Bock from 1994. The strongest, naturally-fermented beer in the world, it weighs in at a hefty 27% ABV.

I won’t say that I remember every vintage. That would be absurd. But a few do stand out. 2003 was especially good in my memory, as was 2009. But maybe that was just the circumstances in which I tasted them. At any rate, I sampled this year’s version last night. Do I like it? I’m undecided. I guess I’ll just have to try it again. Here’s my notes:

Samuel Adams Utopias 2011
Boston Beer Company, Boston, Massachusetts
Style: ?
Serving Style: 22 oz bottle

Aroma: Thick butterscotch and maple candy with faint chocolate in the background. Port wine-like. Caramelized prunes. Layers and layers of smells. A big enough whiff reveals nostril-burning alcohol.

Appearance: Dark mahogany with flashes of blackness. Clear. Still. Ample legs drip down the side of the glass when swirled.

Flavor: Rich and creamy. The same butterscotch and maple candy carries over from the aroma. Chocolate comes lingers behind. Glints of sour cherry toward the end. Caramelized dark fruits. Alcohol is prominent, perhaps a bit too much so. Not hot, but boozy. It tingles the tongue and numbs the lips. Finishes long and sweet. Complex.

Mouthfeel: Thick and chewy. Alcohol warms all the way down. Creamy. Still.

Overall Impression: The caramel, butterscotch and maple is nice, but then the tart cherry comes in underneath and upends it. It adds layers of complexity, but that isn’t always necessarily a good thing. My impression changed from sip to sip, some exceedingly enjoyable, some less so. It would be nice to let the alcohol tone down a bit. Perhaps some age will help. I’ll give it another try in a few months.