Tie XI
Monday Night Brewing

fobab 2023. They had Tie XII on the beer list and banner, but description matches this.

sick to score a couple of their anniversary beers while we were in georgia, and this one is pretty special stuff, eight base beers, some 25 different barrels, amburana wood which i love in this sort of thing, and vanilla, which is not overdone in here, obviously they have a pretty epic barrel program to be able to put something like this together, and it was a treat to get into. its dark and viscous, not black but a deeper brown, leggy, and with some carbonation i wasnt really expecting. i get the maltier beers first in the nose, the quad, the brown, lots of caramel and licorice and leather, less sweet than i thought it might be, and i get some rum and whiskey ahead of other barrel elements i think. the amburana wood is warm and aromatic with an almost cinnamon note, and the vanilla is natural. light spice, lots of wood, and substantial alcohol presence. the flavor is cool, lots of dark grain in here and its roasty and bitter beneath the sweeter layers, cocoa and coffee, light smoke, coffee, and strange liquor, amaro or something coming through, root beer and cola character too, woody the whole way, interesting in that regard due to the amburana, some middle fruitiness, more and more vanilla and alcohol as it warms. some bubbles pushing through all the body is nice, but this is sweet and strong enough to be a slow sipper, palate coating and on my tongue forever. suggestions of port wine, single malt scotch, and brandy. the multiple barrels add a lot, would love to know some more details about them and the blend in general, but this is clever, cohesive, and special. these guys have got me super interested and stoked right now!

Dark brown pour with hints of purple; opaque in the glass; thin yet lasting tan head. Nice nose comprised of roasted and charred grains; a touch of whiskey; dark chocolate and cocoa. Rich, sweet, milk chocolate flavor; anise; bourbon; cocoa. Heavy and soft mouthfeel; residual sugars coat the palate; a firm presence of alcohol heat.

I like this beer overall. It is definitely unique compared to most barrel-aged dark ales. Besides the usual bend suspects of a stout and barleywine, the brewers included a brown, quad and doppelbock into the mix as well as some amburana and Madagascar vanilla. I appreciate all these beer styles, and I don't dislike this beer per se, yet it seems a bit of too much and too boozy to really go bonkers about this. Regardless, I'm glad to have tried this one.

ABV: 12.5%; pouring temperature: 53 °F; bottling info: 2022
Source: Tavour

Appearance: Pours a dark brown, near black body with a rather limited, loose, beige-colored head.

Smell: A lightly spicy, almost perfumy wood element aided by a cutting, sustained ribbon of curt alcohol atop the sweetish, lush maltiness showing caramelly, chocolaty, cherry-raisin elements with a slight outlying albeit sustained oxidized hint - a good, timely reminder to not sit on bottles or cans too long, friends.

Taste: A plush, can't-help-but-stroke-it velour of dark maltiness with a plainly sweet, rich caramel-blended chocolate brownie batter taste. You've got some candy-shell coated coffeebeans, spiced dark fruits with an extra something-sorta vinous quality with a quickly encroaching alcoholic element. Its woodsy Amburana quality is just a bit... different, similar to how DFH's Palo Santo Marron was for their bolstered, boozy brown ale. Sweet, dessert-like finish, again with just a wee skosh of oxidation showing.

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied. Lightly carbonated. Chewy, somewhat sticky mouthfeel.

Overall: Fine, fine, I'll admit it, I was totally dreading this one, even on-tap at the brewery during their anniversary weekend. "We blended a whole bunch of random beers for our anniversary" nearly always equates to cleaning out the rancid refrigerator, making some much-needed room in the garage. A whole bunch of dead, lifeless, cheerless, possibly rancid beers are all thrown into barrels and then shot into a brite tank, often with a hearty dose of artificial gunk/ooze to help hide the glaring flaws within.