Serendipity No. 1
Tree Brewing Co.

Jason's bottle. Though the first batch, it was delivered recently. Funky and fresh aroma. Cloudy brown colour with creamy large soapy head, also leaving lace. 5% yet so boozy tasting with a tartness like a sour wild ale. Complex. A good barreling, for sure. But harsh as it went through the system

650 ml bottle, thanks to Sid for sharing this rarity!

Pours a cloudy brownish orange, very muddy, thin light tan head forms and settles down to a thin ring around the glass, a few lace spots stick but otherwise it looks unspectacular.

Smell is interesting, quite boozy, lots of whiskey and some oaky notes, a bit of caramel sweetness, strange fruitiness, couldn't pin the aroma on this one, a bit vegetal and earthy.

Taste is similar, has some nice elements but just comes together strangely, vegetables, biscuit, caramel, whiskey and oak, booze, a touch of vanilla, fruity, interesting.

Mouthfeel is light bodied, pretty thin, with low carbonation. Just doesn't sit right, but thanks Sid!

Mad props to Colin at the Village Green Liquor Store in Vernon, who gave me one of these out of his stash during my visit there last month - serendipity, indeed!

This beer pours a slightly hazy - from the stirred-up sediment - copper brown colour, with two fingers of puffy, creamy light beige head, which leaves a nice belt of webbed lace around the glass as it slowly, but surely dissipates. It smells of caramel, toffee, real vanilla, and oak - the whiskey barrel really inhabits the aroma. The taste is herbal hops, and bready malt, soaked in bourbon - earthy grain, vanilla, and zingy alcohol essence, if not in the strength. The carbonation tends to the mild side of things, the body medium weight, and smooth but for a mild, but increasingly noticeable airy pull at the top of the palate. It finishes dry, with some more woody barrel characteristic livening things up.

The barrel sure does a number on an otherwise standard underlying blend of beers. That said, the particular whiskey characteristics are good, but kind of tire the tastebuds after a spell - the woodiness becomes trying.

From a 650 ml brown bottle, enamel label silkscreened on. An interesting new twist for Tree with this barrel aged series.

Pours out a rich translucent brown with good clarity, along with a tall tight spongy off-white head with good retention and thick lacing.

Vanilla and bourbon come out first in the aroma, molasses and wood follow, very faint leafy, spicy hops.

Flavour starts out mild, some leafy, herbal hops kick in, then some woody and char bitterness, vanilla and bourbon on the finish with an astringency that lingers on into the aftertaste. Highlights of vanilla also appear in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel seems light in general, medium-light body, low carbonation, a bit watery and slick.

The flavours from the barrel are very apparent, however there doesn't seem to be much in the way of character from the base beer itself even at room temperature, which is disappointing, and doesn't lend to giving this beer the depth that it deserves. Hopefully number 2 will offer more depth from the base beer, as Tree has obviously chosen some goods barrels to work with.

This is also listed under a very wrong style, more akin to a Scottish ale or a Northern Brown ale, the former seems more plausible.

I'd venture that this is a Scottish ale as opposed to a Black and Tan. No real hint to what this is other than the entire batch was aged in a single whisky barrel. No. 2 maybe no different, unless the brewery gets another barrel -as per the kind people at Tree.

Dark copper to mahogany colour. Creamy off-white head. Whisky scent, sweet malts. Reminiscent of Innis & Gunn, expect perhaps leaning more to the bourbon side (the bottle only says whisky, not what type).

Strong woodsy and whisky flavours, very sweet and almost no hops at all. Vanilla, brown sugar and peat. Slight smokiness.

Very nice beer, I'm glad I got a chance to sample a few bottles before the brewery sold out.

Serendipity no 1 pours a deep garnet. Immediately you can smell the whiskey. Further investigation finds toffee, nut, dark fruits, vanilla, flowers, biscuit. The vanilla, from the oak, and the dark fruit, coming in a mostly raisin, perks up a bit when you drink it; while the whiskey backs down a bit. Minimal lacing. Mildly sweet finish. Very good beer. Can't wait to try the next one. Assuming I can find it.