Aaron: Cognac
Hill Farmstead Brewery

This one pours a dark-ish brown color, with a small head, and a bit of lacing.

This smells like honey, maple, chocolate, breadiness, and cognac.

Cognac works well with the Aaron base, to no one’s surprise. This has an almost sleek and silky flavor to it – caramel, maple, and honey, with a little bit of fruitiness from the barrel, rounding with a nice little oaky spice.

This is medium bodied, not too boozy, and nice and silky.

This is really good, but not quite as good as port or the regular bourbon version.

 

 

500ml bottle, dated 11.15.2024, poured into a stemless wine glass. Enjoyed on 06.28.2025, reviewed from Tasting Journal.

The beer pours a deep burgundy color, deep reds, dark ambers, fairly opaque, bone colored head, modest retention and spotted lacing. the aroma is great, hot cognac spirit, slightly vinous, charred oak, hearty grains, stone fruits, licorice, brown sugar, and caramel. The flavors are very nice, lots of stone fruits, figs, licorice, raisin, warm cognac spirit that is nicely layered, charred oak, hearty grains, caramel, brown sugar, and lingering vanilla. The mouthfeel is great, coating, super creamy and smooth, medium heavy body with an easy but warm finish.

Verdict: A really great expression of Aaron. The cognac spirit works really well with the darker stone fruit qualities of the barleywine, very complex and nicely balanced.

Drinking out of a small snifter at Blackback Pub.
Pours a dark amber with a very full frothy head.
Smells of cognac.
Nice smooth mouth feels.
Nice sweet taste of Barleywine. Notes of cognac.
Very nice.

 

The pour is darker than expected, almost espresso with ruby highlights. The very light brown head is short, but leaves impressive lacing.
The taste is toffee and vanilla and oak and cognac. The soft, bready malt base carries all those additional flavors with ease. A hint of pepper shows up once in a while, curious but there it is.
The feel is lightly viscous, a nice sipping beer which is what I like.
OA, a delicious barleywine that I would be happy drinking regularly if that was possible.

 

 

Bottle: Poured a deep brown color barleywine with no small brown foamy head. Aroma of deep caramelized notes with Cognac notes and some light vanilla notes. Taste is also a mix of deeply caramelized malt notes with Cognac notes and a semi-sweet finale. Body is pretty full with good carbonation with some discernible alcohol notes. Nice barleywine with some good amount of barrel notes that are discernible.