Morning Ritual
Grand Canyon Brewing Company

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 1/2017. Bottle #464/1080. Pours fairly hazy/cloudy nearly opaque dark brown color with a small fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with poor retention, that reduces to a minimal ring of lace pretty quickly. Minimal spotty lacing and some clinging bottles on the glass. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, rum, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, licorice, raisin, fig, date, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, smoke, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready/light roasted malts, rum barrels, and light earthy hops/fruity yeast notes; with big strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, rum, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, licorice, raisin, fig, date, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, smoke, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal, grassy, peppery, roasted bitterness; and rum/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, rum, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, brown bread/crust, molasses, licorice, dark fruit, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, smoke, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/light roasted malts, rum barrels, and light earthy hops/fruity yeast flavors; with a great malt/bitterness and rum/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and rum/oak spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is great. A bit thin for the ABV. Minimal warmth of 11% or barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is an awesome barrel aged imperial brown ale. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/light roasted malts, rum barrels, and light earthy hops/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish; great soft feel. Awesome balanced rich malts and rum barrel presence/integration; mild earthy hops, and fruity yeast. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive style example. Not overly boozy/tannic from rum.