A Deal With The Devil - Triple Oak-Aged (Red Label)
Anchorage Brewing Company

Blend 2022. Red label, black wax. The epitome of barrel aged barleywine. Complexity beyond imagination. Bourbon flavors are crisp and clear. Tannins are drying without any earthiness. Spice. Caramel. Sublime in every respect. Shared at Mortalis Buffalo.

 

 

Dark opaque brown body, light brown ring. Smells of the barrels so well, cognac shines with molasses. Taste accents the dark fruit, candy nuttiness and toffee with the barrels. Soft and refined with very warm barrels. Amazing

Drank from a 12.7 fl. oz. / 375ml red wax dipped bottle purchased on Tavour
Batch #8
Served in a tulip

Review #2375

The beer poured a dark mahogany brown hue and was topped by a thin, bubbly, caramel colored cap of froth that quickly dissolved. There was no lacing whatsoever. As the liquid was swirled, a wall of thin, drippy legs cascaded down the sides of the glass.

The aroma was super boozy and sweet. Uber bourbon forward. This definitely smelled more like a spirit than a beer. Lots of rich caramelized maltiness. Some vanilla was noticeable too. Dark fruit notes were also detectable. Charred raisins came to mind. Some plum and fig as well. A bit port like. The sweetness intensified as the beer warmed.

The flavor profile was super malty and robust. Boozy but not quite as intensely so as the nose. Bourbon notes came through big time. Loads of rich caramel and toffee notes as well. Big plum and fig presence too. Vanilla notes were apparent in the center. Crème brûlée perhaps. More caramelized sugars and a hint of roast on the back end and in the finish. Boozy, bourbon-barrel notes and some caramel-like sweetness lingered after the swallow.

The mouthfeel was thinner bodied than I anticipated. Slightly syrupy. The liquid contained a super fine, subtle effervescence that was appropriate for the style. After a few sips, the sugars in the beer left a super sticky film on my lips.

Like the double oak-aged version of this beer I had a few months ago, A Deal With The Devil - Triple Oak-Aged was both intense and complex, but not to the degree I anticipated given both the ratings and the price point. For my money, there are a number of equally good - if not better - barleywines out there that are far less costly.

 

Bottle at share. Dark still pour. Big boozy aroma, sweet, malty, molasses. Taste is strong & sweet with a big burn. Malty, chocolaty, syrupy. Decadent

poured from a black-waxed 375mL bottle into a TG DBA tumbler. pours dark maroon with a thin sandy brown foam head that’s quick to fade away. massive bourbon and oak in the nose. also get toffee, caramel and chocolate. taste is toffee, caramel, vanilla with fairly prominent booze and oak. at room temp this thing is a beast. hits the head as hard as it hits the nostrils. rich, decadent and boozy as all get out but it’s port-like qualities shine through. it’s a sipper but it’s very enjoyable. hits hard and i dig it. finish has some amaretto like qualities as the beer warms. thick, full mouthfeel. outstanding barleywine.

Sweet caramel and butterscotch malty, dark fruity figs and dates, hint of oak and tobacco, and a bourbon barrel boozy nose on this one! Yum! Taste follows with a decadent, caramel-toffee malty and an integrated bourbon boozy finish. This hits all the marks of a great bourbon barrel-aged barleywine! It is a great sipper! As it warms, the sweetness upfront becomes more prominent, but, so does the barrel boozy notes on the backend! It doesn't hit you upside the head with it, but by the time the swallow is almost finished, you definitely taste/feel it! Ha! Wonderfully done!

 

Best Barleywine I have ever had.

This might be the most “more money than sense” moment that I’ve ever had, plucking this 375ML bottle off of Tavour. Oh well, I hear I can’t take it with me, may as well drink it.

Severely dark, opaque red with a cola-like, quick-collapse head. The nose is hard bourbon, attendant booze, red fruit. Those words don’t quite cover the nasal experience.

A Deal With The Devil – Batch #5 nearly blows my head off my shoulders. Holy bourbon. This doesn’t quite burn like three fingers of bourbon neat – OK, it ain’t even close – but the alcohol isn’t demure. BANG it says. STUMBLE it shouts. DRINK MORE OF ME, too. Big hit of sweetness next, followed by a red fruit mélange, de-sharpened pinot noir, with a finish of (you guessed it) booooze. I could drink this until I couldn’t see my hands.

The top of my mouth is numb. The laptop is starting to fuzz. Still would like this to come in bombers. I haven’t blacked out in many years, but that would do it. My words don’t do this justice but for once the hype matches the beer. Bloody fantastic & borderline perfect.

 

From a recent tasting of the 2022 A Deal With the Devil boxed set (plus the full color label bottle to complete the vertical.)
This one has the sharpest barrel treatment.