Coalescence Barrel-Aged Cuvée
Fremont Brewing Company

 

 

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells like toasted and burnt coconut, pumpernickel bread, smoke, black cherry, vanilla, dark chocolate, and oak.

This was much drier and roastier than I would’ve thought, given the blend, which includes threads with coconut and vanilla, and a golden barleywine thread. There’s definitely vanilla, and the coconut feels very burnt-tasting, in a way. The thread that’s just barrel-aged stout seems to have precedence here. There’s lots of barrel, and that sort of whiskey-forward flavor is the dominant flavor here.

This is medium bodied, finishes dry but smooth, with a decent drinkability. There’s not a lot of booziness here.

This wasn’t quite as complex and balanced as I would’ve hoped, but I still enjoyed it.

 

 

 

Kind of surprised by the not-so-positive reviews on this, so I'll give my .02:

While I admit it may be lacking some complexity, this is a delicious concoction. So well-balanced; not too sweet, nice viscosity. The vanilla creates some burnt sugar/toasted marshmallow notes once it bounces off the roastiness and barrel character. So easily drinkable for the ABV. The coconut porter is present and complementary to the vanilla. Balance is the name of the game here: I can taste the barrel, the coconut and the vanilla all equally. The barleywine isn't as noticeably present, but I highly disagree with another reviewer's "kitchen sink" analysis. This is anything but.

Pours out dark brown and cola like. Long lingering tan foam that went from a two finger form to a thin ring.

Nose is interesting. Brownie brittle with coconut mixed in. Roasted malt with bright tones.

Taste is not as emotive as the palate. Mildly bitter roasted malt comes through immediately. A little chocolate and a little cola. The nose promises a lot, but it doesn't quite deliver in the taste.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a little bit of stickiness. Mild to medium carbonation. Smooth. Very drinkable.

Overall this brew is a little weird. A lot of promise but it falls by the wayside. Solid drinker. Enjoyable, but muddled.

Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into a stemless tulip snifter glass. I guess thats what Ive got.
Canned 9/17/2024. At 10% this is AOK by me. received as part of a trade last fall.
The beer pours a rich cola brown color with little to no light passing through my glass. A fluffy tan head foams up about 4 cm and almost overtops my glass.
This foam fades quickly to almost nothing but the thinnest of edge layers. Some scattered lattice when I swirl the glass.
Aroma is some bakers chocolate and brown sugar with a little bit of very ripe banana too. Weiss yeast? Hints of vanilla on the nose as well.
First sip reveals a medium body with very fine and tingly carbonation. Smooth texture and the beer drinks pretty easy.
Flavor is a busy combination. I get chocolate, vanilla, some brown sugar, coconut and definitely some cinnamon mixed in the beer. Overall flavor profile is pretty sweet leaning and I dont get any hop character nor booziness.
This is an interesting and complex beer, but Im not totally sure it melds together well. I enjoy each of the flavors but they dont totally work with each other.
Im glad to have tried this one, but find it a tad sweet and definitely cluttered on the flavor profile

Draft at The Barrel in Estes Park. Poured an opaque, dark, dark brown color with a small, off-white head of foam. it left sudsy lacing. It smelled of chocolate, toffee, bourbon, vanilla and coconut.

The first sip is an eye-opener, and I don't mean that in a nice way. What on God's green earth is this stuff? The list of ingredients and the mixture of brews is amazing, but I wouldn't call it a Cuvée, I call it a kitchen recycling pail. The aroma is disturbing, but at least it's like melted candy bars. The flavor is like cinnamon, but then it's some as-yet undiscovered spice from one of Indiana Jones' adventures. And then it's sugary sweet and finally bitter with that spicy weirdness still tickling the nose hairs. From the 16 oz can dated 09/17/24.

 

16oz can (packaged 9/17/2014) into a tulip. Pours a rich dark brown with a thick 2-finger mocha head.

Aroma is roasty and bitter—cocoa nibs, espresso, vanilla, caramel.

Taste is likewise a nicely balanced blend of bitter and sweet. The caramel and vanilla serve as a counterweight to the chocolate and coffee, with the bourbon holding everything together. As it warms, a touch of smoke, almost rauchbier-like.

Mouthfeel is, as has been true with other Fremont cuvée offerings, a bit lighter than a 100% barrel-aged beer. Light but not thin. It’s squarely in the medium body range. A bittersweet aftertaste lingers on the palate.

Overall a solid offering at a reasonable price point. If one is seeking a quasi-barrel aged beer at about $0.28/oz, they could likely do far worse.

Poured from a 16oz can into CW snifter. Pours an oily black with less than a finger of light brown foam head. There’s a little sweetness on the nose I suspect from the vanilla barrels and coconut. There’s also some chocolate and roasted coffee as well. Taste follows but for whatever reason the combination of the nose tastes even better than it smells. It’s slightly sweet but not sickly sweet by any means. Nice balance and at 10%abv it’s borderline sessionabke. Medium-full mouthfeel leaning towards the thinner side but that only aids in this beer’s drinkability. I quite enjoyed this one. More complex than I thought it would be but also accessible and easy to drink.

Picked up a single 16oz edition from the Hot Spot gas station cooler on Brevard Road 2-15-25 for $5.69. Packaged 9-17-24; consumed for review 4-15-25. Cold stored since purchase.

Beer poured dark brown with a nice long lasting tan head.

Nose is nice, getting light notes of coconut and vanilla.

Taste is a large moderately roasted malt base that gives a light touch of char. Adjunct brings a coconut leaning that combines with vanilla from the barrels. A touch of bourbon along with the char works well to balance the sweetness.

Mouthfeel is medium to large bodied with each sip being silky-smooth.

Overall, this is a very flavorful blend that is pretty balanced. Drink now given the adjuncts!

 

I love the color, nice and black.
A large head that dissipates down to a quarter of an inch of coconut colored head and stays there.
The flavor profile is primarily coconut and honestly a bit of wet cardboard. I get notes of nuts as well. I just don't think the taste is there. The alcohol is 10% and comes through strong. It's close to being really good but just isn't there.

EDIT:
I reviewed it a second time and majorly thought the flavor was there. Coconut again, loads of chocolate, and it was way better the second time. My first review was 3.53.

I'm a fan of these just because they keep coming out in smaller formats (12.7oz bottles and 16oz cans), even though I think that the original or inspirational parts (B-Bomb, Rusty Nail, Dark Star) are all greater than these 'sums' (Miscere, Mezclar, 1765). So far Melange has been my favorite, but to my memory I don't think it was 'better' than Rusty Nail.

From that perspective, this one is no different really, thought the coconut from the blended porter is really quite excellent. Imperial stout-like pour from the can, the cap rises and sticks around for a minute (dark tan in color). Malty, sweet, moderate roast character, booze and warmth, some underlying spices, vanilla and caramel...thick, viscous feel, lower carbonation...that coconut lends a real nuttiness to the entire experience, which is a welcome angle. Overall, good stuff!

 

Canned on: 9-17-24
Many thx to muchloveforhops3 for this can!

A - Dark brown pour with thin caramel lacing and little to no carbonation.

S - Coconut, toasted chocolate, vanilla, Bourbon, and a slight shot of alcohol on the nose.

T - Toasted chocolate and fudge brownie, Bourbon, vanilla, oak, toasted caramel toffee, coconut, and ends with a light toasted fudgie bitterness with a slight bit of citrus buried deep underneath.

M - Light syrupy body that's silky, leaves a sugary residue on the lips, and carries some warming in the back of the throat on the way down.

O - Thick, flavorful, and far better than its current score of (90).