Charleywine Ale
Cigar City Brewing

 

 

Poured at fridge temp into a snifter. Pours dark brown with a tiny layer of head. The nose is full of brandy. Wow. This compliments the subsequent notes of toffee, figs, prunes, tobacco, and vanilla. A bit of oak, and a rye spice come through after the intense wave of brandy subsides. I could just smell this all night. I almost don't want to take a sip for fear of being disappointed. Expectations are high.

The taste doesn't disappoint, but it doesn't quite match the nose. The booze is a bit intense, spreading a burn as it descends down the throat. The brandy is still the main character, but the rye competes here. I can't say that I have ever tried a barleywine aged in both brandy and rye barrels. Great combination. A bitter oaky flavor meets the sweet fruity flavor. Also getting tobacco, a touch of coffee, lots of vanilla, some burnt toffee, raisins, molasses, and figs. Very much a sipper.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice sweet/bitter aftertaste. Overall, a wonderful barleywine. I'm savoring every sip.

 

 

 

 

Smells great, a big wiff of brandy, bourbon, leather, caramel, Marsala, oak and raisins.

From the bottle it’s a dark brown pour with Cognac-colored edges, virtually no head at all. What little foam resulted from a semi-aggressive pour disappeared for good pretty much immediately.

First taste impression is boozy and a little tight, but once it warms up enough to let the complexity come through it absolutely shines - raisins, dark chocolate, cherries, vanilla, figs and molasses, oak, caramel, more chocolate, bourbon, more oak. Medium thick, luxurious mouthfeel. Super long warming finish with the apple brandy finally winning out over the rye.

Overall this is delicious – one to spend time with. It’s also a baby - wish I had another bottle to put down for some years to see how it integrates once some of the alcohol burns off.

 

Second El Cat beer from Edition XII for this swiller. They better all be banger from here on out to make up for the Huna AB bullshit. 500ML bottle with yellowish wax split with my wife.

The pour is very dark with a small shot of mahogany red. No head at all, even with a dump of the last few ounces. The nose is like a barrel salad: rye, apple brandy, cherry liqueur (might just be me), chocolate, & lots of booze. There’s probably a beer under there somewhere.

Charleywine is like waking up having slept with a booze-soaked oak plank in your mouth. Holy oak. Holy booziness. Both are top of palate, sneering disdainfully at the efforts of the weakling malts to break through. They do eventually with chocolate, dark wheat, then the rye hits like Scott Studwell. The finish is more booze & a whiff of apple brandy, one of the more subtle efforts of the spirit I’ve felt. Full. Filling. Thoroughly pummeling the palate, this feels more big stout than big b-wine. Could easily take the bottle solo. May take the second. If my wife isn’t paying attention. Such actions could potentially have consequences. I have to sleep sometime.

This is classic El Cat. Big, bold, ferocious, borderline unique. Do more things like this. Excellent beer.

 

 

Murky dark brown brew, with no head.

Huge boozy and rich nose, featuring rye, whiskey, sherry, cherry, molasses, bark, tannins, caramel, chocolate, and apple brandy.

Smoother on the palate, but featuring similar tones, along with dark fruit and a heavier emphasis on chocolate. The apple brandy comes through deftly, adding to the overall mix without ever taking over - although if you're not a fan of brandy, it may still be an unwelcome guest for your palate.

A really wonderful beer, the kind I'd like to have two or three times as much to just sit and savor over a couple of hours.