A Deal With The Devil
Anchorage Brewing Company

 

 

#99, so good!

 

 

2014 blend 2 is drinking amazing. First time with this beer so I can’t compare it to drinking fresh, but it doesn’t seem to of lost anything. Thick and viscous, slightly boozy, and just tons of dark fruit and toffee flavors. Really incredible

 

 

 

Got a chance to try this brew during beer tasting with a friend. As always, Anchorage not only impresses with the content inside the bottle, but also outside.

A&S: Appearance is maybe the most lacking characteristic of this beer. Unsurprisingly for a high ABV beer, it doesn't contain much head (head at all actually). The color of the beer is a muddy brown-black. Thick looking even when poured. The aroma is boozy upfront, after time becomes super sweet. Other notes include caramel, molasses, vanilla, and plums (in no particular order)

T&M: Incredible build over time. It is hard to predict what your going to get because this beer is constantly changing even long after sipping. These are some of the flavors we were able to identify (in no particular order of dominance): Marshmallow, dark fruits, currents, macarons, molasses, vanilla, and plums. The mouthfeel is impressive because it is simultaneously thick and carbonated. Super tongue coating, keeping the taste hanging around and evolving on your palate over time.

Overall: First off, truly mind-blowing! This beer clearly stood out as special even in a tasting that included Abraxas (which also happened to land in my top 10 of all time). When rating beers, I try my best to consider my personal bias toward certain styles and not give a high rating to particular beers because they are the styles I like. Barleywines are definitely one of my favorite styles, and this beer is excellent for that style. This beer is also unique in that I couldn't stop thinking even days after trying it. Only a handful of beers have had such an impression on me. Highly, highly, highly recommend this beer even for the high price tag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2014 edition

L: A dark ruby red with very little head and no lacing. Slight alcohol legs.

S: Fruity, deep, rich caramel, raisin, prune, vanilla, coconut, and cognac.

T: Very rich caramel flavor, similar to aroma, raisin, vanilla, coconut.

F: Thick, full bodied, very smooth and creamy finish.

Overall: One hell of a strong beer, but very smooth considering. It drinks like it has lower abv, very little alcohol burn, although five years in the bottle certainly helped. Highly reccomended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

05/12/20 bottle @ home (Batch #2, 2014)

666

Did this and the 2020 version back to back, because quarantine. Dark clear brown, no head. Smells strongly of booze, wood, toffee, raisin, brown sugar, barley, vanilla, coconut, and caramel, cognac gives a sweeter complexion. Taste is rich, cognac booze, wood, with rich toffee/caramel, molasses, and everything from the smell, especially dark fruits and a hint of candied cherry lingering. Much sweeter than the 2020. Feel is velvet smooth, very warm, rich, and boozy. The wife loved it

 

 

 

Batch 3 is the GOAT

 

 

vintage 2014

Thanks to JLindros for sharing this bottle. It's a batch 2, a gift to the two of us for working The Festival in Portland.

A - Poured into a Kate the Great tulip a nice darker brown hue with a great one finger lightly tan hued head that faded to leave great bubbly lacing and a thin halo.

S - Big aromas of burnt sugar and caramel. No real alcohol on the nose at all. TONS of dark raisins and dark fruits, glorious cognac barrels and flashes of oak. Great sticky raisin aroma here, super aromatic. While it smells like a vintage beer there is no oxidation.

T - Taste is phenominal. Enormous raisin flavour as well and flashes of chocolate. Exellent cognac barrel notes, sweet, dark fruits, vanilla, barrel oak notes. Loads of almost burnt sugars, little bit of toffee and caramel. This is just exquisietly crafted as far as flavour goes.

M - Mouthfeel is super is lightly carbonated, creamy, smooth, slightly sticky. There is no alcohol.

O - Overall this was a phenomenal beer. There is exquisite cognac notes, lovely dark fruits and creamy barrel. There are incredible characteristics here and with no oxidation in a beer that's 5+ years old....amazing.

Serving Type: bottle

Received at The Festival in Portland a few years back. Had a couple weeks ago at Tasty Tuesday and it was delicious, so I decided it was time to try it, shared with rudzud, from Dec 2014, batch 2

Pours a auburn tan foamy thicker creamy head with moderate retention, good lacing, somehow clear darker auburn color

Nose is awesome, layers of everything sweet, caramel, candy, toffee, big burnt caramel, big apple brandy like with some cognac and vanilla barrel, the aged malt is quite nice, big juicy aged fruit raisin, very aged soft malt slight winey oxidized character, but a good aged oxidation like character,

Taste is just awesome, just incredible, loads of juicy dark fruit, raisin plum like fruit and big caramel candy with some molasses but super smooth and fair sweetness, toffee, caramel, candy malt, reddish toasty malt, butterscotch toffee, a mild bitterness, caramel toffee and some buttery oak, sweet fruity cognac and apple brandy, vanilla barrel, drier finish with lingering sweet candy malt and toffee caramel brandy lingering, aged soft malt and barrel character

Mouth is med to fuller bod, creamy soft med carb, very low alcohol for what it is

Overall holy frig, this was just ridiculous, so smooth and ridiculously awesome, one of the best beers I've ever had, incredible barleywine that I really wish I had a bunch of