Teddy Bear Kisses - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Upland Brewing Company

 

Honestly I found this one to be better than all of the adjunct laden variants. Still has a thin warm verging on hot feel but it is smooth and dries out well. Smell is barrel forward with dark chocolate, supported by faint toffee and roasted malt. Taste has some dark fruit accents but otherwise basically the same. Black body, tan cap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours black with a dark tan head that sticks around and provides a lot of lacing for a beer this big (11% ABV). Gorgeous beer. The nose has a big hunk of barrel notes up front, and the cacao is also well noted.

The barrel is also not shy on the taste, but the anchor for this beer is the fudgy cacao and and a significant char flavor, which works really well to complement the barrel notes.

The mouthfeel approaches creamy, and is full and has considerable depth. The base beer was my first beer from Upland, so I’m partial to this beer out of the gate, but it exceeded my expectations. By a lot. Really well done by a brewery that doesn’t hesitate to jump into the deep end of the pool.

 

12oz canned 10/12/20 (about ten weeks ago) poured into a tulip glass at just above fridge temp 11% ABV. The beer pours dense black with nearly no light penetration and mocha colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of tiny bubbles. Minimal spotty lacing. The aroma is mild with cocoa, roasted malt and a hint of barrel. The taste is bittersweet with the bourbon barrel right up front before the roasted malt, earthy hops and dark chocolate come through. Strong bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less than medium carbonation and a dry finish. No hint of the ABV in the taste or aroma. Overall, very good. The aroma is a weak point here and I would prefer it thicker, but it's enjoyable.

 

 

19 July 2020 - Beer #146

Corona Day #129

Price: $6.00 at Craft Beer Cellar in Washington DC

Appearance: 5 - very black. The dark head is making pretty lacing everywhere.

Nose: 4 - smells great, but it's hard to tell. It's extremely mild.

Taste: 2 - might be a drop infected. Fairly roasty, but basically no barrel. I get a tinge of winey sourness.

Mouth: 5 - wonderfully smooth and frothy.

Overall: 3 - seems like it might have been a good beer if not for the infection.

Cheers!

Canned on 10/25/19.

A - Dark brown and borderline black with toffee colored lacing.

S - Light bourbon, oak, cocoa, and cherry.

T - Chocolate roast, chocolate char, delicate cherry, toasted caramel, there's some light roast acidity, nice lingering chocolate char, oak, and bourbon on the back end.

M - Thick, silky, and dry on the back of the tongue.

O - This is really solid. Recommended.

Pours black with a mocha head. The smell has a great caramel mocha bourbon nose. The taste has a chocolatey Bourbon sweetness, finished with some dark chocolate. The feel was smooth minimal booze burn. Overall a very good stout.