Viola Sofia - Bourbon Barrel Aged
Hill Farmstead Brewery

Pours black with a reddish hue and a half finger of creamy mocha head. Eventually settles to a wisp and crown that leaves decent lacing. Big RIS aroma of umami and red wine. Chocolate milk is added to that mix up front in the taste, followed by a kiss of alcohol and relatively strong sort-of-earthy, cocoa-esque bitterness. Medium-to-full bodied with tight, sharp carbonation. A solid RIS.

 

 

 

 

I don’t know if I got a bad bottle but this beer is flat and kind of bland. It smells ok but the taste is uninspiring and even a little boring. There is minimal barrel flavor and it is a bit weak for a RIS with no real flavor notes popping. There was a fair amount of sediment at the bottom of the bottle that I avoided pouring the majority of. I debated about not rating the beer but I have a hard time knowing if it’s actually a bad bottle but it’s not what I expected from grassroots/HF

Draft or bottle pour at the brewery

Very small fizzy head, little lacing, jet black color, great legs

Nose heavy roast and dark chocolate syrup, char, cocoa, burnt marshmallow, hint of dark fruit fig like, mild smokey, vanilla oak?, nougat 

Taste mild smokey roasted malt, espresso soaked cake and tiramissu notes, dark chocolate almost fudgey syrup like, light bitterness from roast and a little spicy hop, light smooth alcohol, vanilla barrel, baking spices, nougat, cinnamon bark, little anise, cocoa powder late, lingering bitterness from spicy hops and roast, as well as malt derived baking spices, mild sticky finish

Mouth is fuller bod, lighter smooth alcohol, med carb

Would have appreciated this more with a bit more sweetness.

 

Bottle pour into a taster glass.
Dark brown with thick tan lasting head. Bakers chocolate, molasses, leather, and peppercorn on the nose and palate. Barrel presence is a bit subdued. Thick mouthfeel with balanced carbonation.

I guess all the Grassroots beers will just get added back to HF over and over again