Barrel-Aged Belgian Brown
Upstream Brewing Company - Old Market

Per the brewer: "This Belgian Brown spent the last year maturing in Cabernet French Oak casks. The wine-like flavor comes through nicely in the earthly Belgian Brown. This beer has a medium body and a velvety texture. We added tart and sweet cherries, which balances the 'twangy' character nicely. This is one of the most interesting beers of the year, a must try for any beer adventurist."

Appearance: Pours a hazed, walnut brown body with a thin, short-lived, off-white head.

Smell: Rich-smelling aroma that's simply alive with notes of caramel, chocolate, jammy red wine, soil-covered wood, plums, and discarded cherry skins. Mmm-mm!

Taste: Pleasant initial maltiness tasting of heavily toasted bread crusts smothered in dark caramel and bittersweet chocolate with a medium-low sweetness. Then up springs a lightly tart, lightly tannic red wine character blanketed in a rich woody earthiness. A touch lactic throughout. Towards the end, the beer gets an injection of fruitiness and rebounding tastes of caramel and cocoa. Finishes modestly dry.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-low carbonation.

Drinkability: Excellent stuff, this BA-BB. It's one of the most compelling wine barrel-aged beers you'll likely find and one, sadly, I doubt more than a handful of people will get to experience. Hopefully Upstream will consider revisiting this one from time to time.