The Divine Anniversary Ale
Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom

 

This one-off ale pours dark, almost black. Brown/translucent at the edges if you tip the glass. No head really; the lacing is thick along the rim with no alcohol legs. Smell is of bourbon, dark fruit, some biscuit. Smells rich, as BA user LiquidAmber said, like a RIS.

Taste is more malt, dark fruit, and licorice. Nice body for an brown ale (or is it a "strong ale"--they have two different listings here), but not so roasty as to go to stout territory. Has a cola feel, like a porter with some barrel resonance. A bit boozy. No coffee, not chewy. You know what I mean. Refreshing, clean finish. Slight chocolate in the whole taste.

Not bad, there's bourbon barrel-aging in this drink and that comes through as it warms and opens up. If brown/strong ale is your thing, you'll appreciate this.

 

 

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque in the glass, with a fine, half finger dark khaki head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of dark toasteed malt, bourbon, chocolate, vanilla and oak. Flavor is dark toasted malt, quality licorice, oak, light vanilla and hints of dark fruit. Unusual lingering aftertaste of black licorice and toasted malt with dry woody elements.. Medium bodied with light creaminess. The aroma profile is quite similar to a barrel aged stout or dark porter, but the flavor belies its brown ale base, which is more than sufficient to support the robust bourbon and barrel flavors. There is a rich and distinct licorice flavor in this ale, mostly in the finish that fits well with the other flavors and the barrel character. This is really tasty and somewhat unusual. Kudos to Double Mountain for pulling this off for their anniversary. They are a consistently interesting brewery and this is a delicious celebratory ale.