Cognac Barrel Aged Davey Murray's Best Scotch Ale
Lagunitas Brewing Company

boy the cognac barrel sure adds a lot to this, seemingly even more sugar and alcohol to a brew thats already very sweet and very strong, wow, this is a slow sipper of the highest order. oddly looks a half step more pale in the glass, whyever that may be, short headed but still frothy, a little less clear too from the time in the barrel. aroma has intense vanilla, brandy sort of fruitiness, obvious cognac character, old oak, toasted bread, light peat and bark mulch, raisin and rum, toffee, creme brulee top, and a neat wetness to it, almost a petrichor thing, very different from the original, more barleywine now at this level. the flavor leans barleywine too, a defnite english type malt thing happening, just faint smoke, fig and raisin, lots of brown sugar sweetness, no heavier in feel really than the original, at least in terms of body, but the alcohol is hot, almost tastes like cognac was just dumped into this, but there is nice oak too, lots of french vanilla character, a little tea thing holding over from the base beer, and its intense and mellow at the same time overall. really different and cool, not to many breweries doing this sort of thing, and i like the grain layers a lot. the barrel treatment seems well suited to the beer, and this is a monster overall. wish this got packaged, it would age with the best of them im sure...