Tart Of Darkness - Rum Barrel-Aged
The Bruery

Review: 2496
Name: Tart of Darkness - Rum Barrel
Brewery: The Bruery Terreux
Location: Placentia, CA
Style: Barrel Aged Wild Ale
ABV: 7.4%
Canned: 2022
Date: 12 October 2025
I am digging back in my cellar and getting a wild ale that is three years old. I have consumed the original Tart of Darkness, and I am about to learn if the Rum Barrel makes much difference. I am using a tulip glass, and the serving temperature is 46 degrees. The pour created a frothy, airy, two-fingered light tan head with above-average retention. The somewhat slow dissipation left chunks of lacing on the glass. The color is dark brown with reddish hues, charting at SRM 30, semi-opaque. The overall appearance of the beer is above average.
Nosing the beer, I smell dark roasted malt, bready, toffee, caramel, a sourness, fruity, earthy, wood, citrus, pine, vanilla, leather, horse blanket, acidic acid, and some chocolate.
I taste Dark roasted malt, horse blanket, acidic acid, vanilla, prunes, toffee, funky, fruity, light char, earthy, wood, citrus, pine, light coffee, and some chocolate.
The mouthfeel is puckering, finishing crisp and dry. The body is medium with medium carbonation.
Final Thought: It does not taste much different from the original. The rum is barely discernible; the aging could have gone on a bit longer. The wild ale is potent, with not much of the barrel aging coming through. It is another solid offering from The Bruery.

 

Pours dark brown, robust 2" tan head with brief retention and spotty lacing. Nose is vinous and acetic, light roast character, dark fruit, in particular sour cherries, fresh oak barrel. Overall, it's an extremely well balanced aroma between the stout, sour, and wood elements. Taste follows, though the tart/sour element definitely is more pronounced than the stout. Acetic, sour cherry, pure cranberry juice; stout character not as pronounced, but gives it some body. Light woodsiness as well. Challenging to find the rum in this. Medium body with crisp carbonation. Overall, this is a wonderful beer, but hard to pick out some of its essential elements.

 

750 ml bottle into a tulip snifter. 2018 edition, had 8/6/23.

Pours near black and opaque, with a half inch foamy head and light foamy cling. Smells tart and a little sour. Aromas of chocolate, some oak, light vanilla, a little rum, light cherry and plum when fully warmed. Tastes somewhat tart and acidic, and lightly sour. Flavors of malt, some vanilla, light chocolate and oak, light rum and cherry. Some licorice in the aftertaste. Smooth for what it is, a very good fuller body, well carbonated.

More acidic than tart, definitely more acidic than sour. Maybe not all bottles of this age well- obtained this three months ago from The Bruery. Don’t get much rum barrel and even less of the fruitiness I remember from the original. Good overall, but not what I expected.

750 ml bottle, 2022 edition, label says 7.4% ABV. Served in a Bruery tulip, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch or so tan head. Head retention is decent enough, but there isn't much lacing. I like the aroma, the brew smells like cherries, rum, vanilla, caramel and some chocolate. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's the addition of some roasted malt and oaky flavors. A little more tart than sweet tasting. Wish the barrel character was stronger but that's not a big deal. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's slick and has a low/moderate amount of carbonation. I liked this one, but then I've liked the other Tart of Darkness brews I've tried so I'm not surprised.

 

 

A: Poured into a Duvel tulip to a black beer topped by a dense finger of light tan head which fades quickly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of sour cherries and chocolate with a nice blast of funk and funky rum
T: Taste is a nice sourness up front with some cherries, chocolate, rum, oak, light coffee, more rum. On the swallow there's another blast of sourness and cherry with more chocolate, funk, leather, and rum.
M: This beer has a moderate amount of body on the palate with a slightly slick feel. Carbonation is effervescent and slightly prickly while the acidity ensures that the beer has a drying finish.
O: Overall this is a nice twist on a classic beer from them. Regular Tart of Darkness is awesome but the added rum aging adds a little more complexity to an already well crafted beer. Worth a try if you can get your hands on it.

2018 Vintage

Appearance: Very dark brown color, almost black but you can see it';s brown holding it up to the light. Generous-sized frothy beige head that gradually subsided. Good looking beer.

Smell: Mild funk, mild rum aromas, faint roast malts, and slight grassy/hay notes.

Taste: Mild roast notes, citrus tones and very mild acetic notes, and a touch of rum notes. i also get some very faint leather notes towards the finish which is moderately dry. It might be due to the Rum bal-aging but this one comes off less sour than the original TOD and most of the other TOD variants. I couldn't detect any alcohol which is impressive in light of the 9.7% listed ABV.

Mouth-feel: Moderate body with a fair level of carbonation.

Overall: I liked the original Tart of Darkness when it was released and every variant subsequently released. this one carries on the lineage as a unique and tasty beer.