Barrel-Aged Project Brew No. 10 - Madeira
Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal

 

 

 

 

I think my cork was loose because this was a flat as it gets.

Looked like I was drinking a sherry. Tasted like plums/dates, oak, and a hint of vanilla. The booze is definitely there. Felt boozy and flat. Like no carb at all. (My rating may have improved all over had this not been the case)

 

 

 

Big raisin and date dark fruit character, with a touch of cardboard.

Flavor is sweet and vinous, accented by tart apple. This one likely had some age on it.

 

 

 

 

a cool beer, just the second one of apparently a great many i have had from this series. i found this less barrel heavy and influenced by the spirit than the grappa one, but that may have been the most intense barrel experience i can remember in a beer, so that is to be expected. i actually thought the madeira influence wasn't super prominent, i got way more of just the base belgian strong dark ale here, and the oak, but without the spirit as forward. super dark brew, hints of black cherry in color to an otherwise brown and cloudy brew, with a sturdy but short half inch of thick lasting off white head. the nose is remarkably subtle for a beer with this much alcohol strength, i get the roasty grains and the yeast, with a lot of dried fruit character, raisins and plums and cherries are all there. taste too, the fruit is sweet and tart too, and there are notes of tobacco too, raw and dried too. the barrel comes on late, with some red and dessert wine characteristics, decent acidity and tannins there, and it dried up, but its not defined half as well as the grappa was in that edition. full bodied and well carbonated, yeast is classically belgian, and this is on par with other hot ten dormaal brews. tons of chunky yeast in the last pours from the bottle, but i liked it quite a bit. the rich dark belgian stuff always appeals to me, and even though the unique barrel doesnt come through as well as it could, i still think its worth the 18 bucks it goes for.

edit: markedly better on draft. not sure if the age has something to do with it, but i found the barrel to be so much better integrated, and the beer to be more mellow, flavorful as it still is. something really different here, and quite a bit more sour than it was in the bottle, although that works here too. super interesting, but for me, better from the keg!

 

Very smooth and drinkable. Taste includes the usual plum/fig profile typical of a Belgian dark with a hint of spice at the end. The flavor is somewhat reminiscent of a fruity wine. Mouthfeel is lighter than average for the style -- I would like to have a bit more carbonation. Most impressive about this beer is the 12% ABV, almost undetectable.

Overall a nice beer that's easy going down, but for the high price tag there are certainly better beers out there.