A Deal With Evil
Anchorage Brewing Company

 

 

 

Pours a deep, rich amber brown, with a tan, active head that crumbles like soda. Sits black in the glass, with translucent reddish brown edges. Despite it looking black in the glass, it glows blood red when held up to the light.

There is so so much going on when you stick your nose into the glass. Rich red wine, vanilla tootsie roll, dark salted caramel and black cherries. 17% ABV is overtly present, with nostril burning heat even with a mild inhale.

Again, flavors are so complex. Evil Twin has done amazing things with their Sine Qua Non barrels across multiple beer styles. Although, those barrels could make Heineken taste good.. Vinous qualities are present, but complemented by the big caramel flavors from the malt and the bourbon barrels. They work in harmony to individually shine without overpowering each other. This was blended flawlessly. It’s sweet, but balanced. Dark fruits, cherries, oaky red wine, brown sugar, and the fortified quality of port.

 

Well this is a lot more interesting than a Deal With the Devil. Evil Twin's portion first spent 2 years in red wine barrels. That is a lot more time in oak than Anchorage typically uses and it really takes this in a different direction, I get a nice leathery note. I'm loving the chocolatey, oaky molasses that is coming through in a big way. There is more bourbon than wine but the vinous twang cuts the sweet nicely. This is definitely unique and comes together extremely well, I'm very glad to have tried this.

 

 

Pours out a mild dark brown. Not the same deep darkness as a stout, but the color of a Tootsie Roll. Not a lot of foam even on an aggressive pour.

Nose is spectacular. Huge malt presence, dark fruits, raisins covered in toffee, smoky caramel, oak, bourbon, brown sugar. Despite its ABV, it doesn't come screaming out of the glass which is crazy.

Taste tells even more of a tale. On the initial impact, its malt, smoked caramel, almond/amaretto, and towards the mid palate, the brews sings with this sweet cherry note. It's so prevalent that it reminds me of those cherry lollipops that they used to hand out at banks. The wine barrel has more influence than the bourbon barrel, but neither is a slouch. They dont clash either. Brown sugar from the bourbon and cherry and other dark fruits from the wine resonate harmoniously. This reminds a lot of Utopias. The booze starts to get strong as it warms, which further pushes the similarity towards Utopias.

Mouthfeel is fullbodied. The carbonation is briefly sharp at the very beginning and then is followed up the warming and drying of the high ABV. Its not oily, and doesn't hang to heavily on the palate which is nice. It is a little cloying, but the drying eventually overwhelms that.

Overall this is a product of masterclass artistic prowess. The description of this brew on the bottle itself is nearly a paragraph. Despite that, its not too busy. Every aspect glimmers and works incredibly well with each other. One of my favorites from Anchorage.

Consumed while watching RetroAhoy: X-COM.

375 mL bottle. Murky brown. Smells of bourbon, strong wine, oak, brown sugar. Tastes of brown sugar, intense alcohol, red wine acidity, oak, bourbon lingers in the finish. Heavy and very boozy. Well, it's boozy. But it's also pretty tasty. Wine barrel helps a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super dark brown opaque body with a tan cap. This is a complex beauty of a beer. Huge bourbon, molasses, brown sugar, various dark fruits, red wine, blended darker oaks, caramel, barley, a hint of anise and earthy smoke in the nose. Taste is just as rich and complex: barley actually is detected more here, the boozy dark fruits with the molasses and hint of orange is just breathtaking, slight oxidation is a pleasant finishing addition. Barrel character is massive. Feel reflects all of this with smooth richness but also huge oak, booze, and barley. This might be the most complex barleywine I have ever had! The wife loved it.

This is what a barrel aged barleywine should be. It’s sweet, it’s smokey, it’s boozy as hell, and it’s tasty.