Desponia
Cigar City Brewing

 

Fan-freaking-tastic....!!!

Sweet and boozy as it should be....not cloying or fusel....rich caramel and toffee...deep barrel character...oaky and figgy...

Lots of dark fruit and booze...just so intense...

A terrific English barleywine...

Recommended!!!

Pours opaque black with one plus fingers width of dark khaki colored head. Decent retuning. Looks like a stout. Aroma is bursting with wonderful English barleywine aromas: huge dark fruits, caramel/toffee, molasses, cocoa, somewhat roasty. Bourbon notes are present but not particularly strong on the nose. Some balancing fusel ethanol. Really terrific nose. Taste is more barrel forward and more boozy. The dark fruits are there but not as prominent as the nose. There’s a metallic character that’s not huge but is noticeable and detracting from the other, better notes. There’s a moderate amount of bitterness and roasted malts. Some nutty characters and semi sweet cocoa. Fairly complex. If not for that metallic off note this would be absolutely killer, as is, it’s still more than quite good even with it. Mouthfeel is full side of medium bodied, the very high ABV is appreciable but not negative, drinkability is solid all things considered. Overall, this is one of the better El Cat beers I’ve had in the 3 years I’ve been a member.

4.25/4.75/4.25/4.25/4.25