Anniversary Redux - Moscatel
Kane Brewing Company

 

 

8 ball black with a creamy and uniformly dense but short tan foam settling to a sparse film and curled collar leaving a few long arms of lace reaching around the glass.

Smell is supremely boozy, woody and mature, like a glass of straight bourbon. It's a little maple-esque in the splintery oak, and also features notes of toasted brown sugar and creamy milk chocolate. As it warms, the aroma becomes easier to simplify by boiling it right down to chocolate chip pancakes.

Taste is even more mature and complex, becoming very forward of dark fruits like dates with figs and cacao. The smooth fluid body is medium-light on heft at first, with a faint background carbonation that's crisp and tingly. This semi-dry finish has a much lighter sting than the nose suggests it would. Barrel presence is woody and even nutty, like cashew, but far less imposing than I expected. It's a little peppery and milky, and becomes more cleanly dry with time, bringing up notes of dark red wine and sherry. The carbonation also softens up and fills out the body as it warms.