Umami (Bourbon Barrel Aged)
The Livery

 

500 ml bottle into a tulip glass. Bottled 12/3/14, bought at the brewery 2/2016, had on 4/15/16.

Pours a light amber, somewhat cloudy, with no head, no lacing. Lots of green apple, some malt, some bourbon, vanilla, a general spiciness. Not so good. Flat tasting. Again, green apple, stronger bourbon, vanilla, oak. Mostly smooth, considering it had no carbonation, thin feeling, no real body.

I had three great beers on tap here, but had reservations about buying this, because it was sitting on a counter in the bright sun. Had I known when it was bottled, I would not have made the purchase. Also bought a BBA Doppelbock that I have not written up yet, that fared better, but would have been great with some better care. High priced, too. Disappointing. I hardly ever write this type of review.

I hear so much good about this in the West Michigan area the ratings here surprise me a bit.
December 2015 release.
Look is fine, low carbonation not uncommon for the style.
Aroma, butterscotch, some red fruits, lighter vanilla.
Taste follows, more barrel, vanilla, booze.
A little bit hot, a sipper, probably needs a little time.
No where near as bad as these ratings, goes to show you they aren't always the end all.

Poured on draft into a snifter, this beer has a 2 inch thick off white head, and a hazy slightly darker mango orange body. Right away the smell is buttered toast, raspberry, and a ton of green apple (acetaldehyde). Taste is much the same with a ton of butter, buttered toast, popcorn butter, a slight apple, slight raspberry, slight strawberry, a noticeable bit of alcohol, and a background of wheat spice that is barely there. Mouth feel is nice and savory (umami!) full with a full body as well. Overall I would never recommend this beer to anyone, it is a cluster fuck of off flavor and disappointment, I had this at Hopcat with their grilled cheese that contained apples and even with such a oddly matching pairing (buttered toast, apple) it was horrible and overpowering in a fake flavored sense. Only a tiny speck of the bourbon flavor shows through in this drink and I can only imagine what it'd taste like without.