Nothing Special
Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse

 

What an interesting beer. Terrific aroma, sweet malts, and just the right amount of carb. Most similar beer I've had to this is Bourbon County Wheatwine 2018. This isn't that sweet though. I should've bought more than one bomber.

Pours a dark dark amber/brown that becomes nearly pitch black once it's all piled up in a glass. Wonderful pillowy head that hangs on with admirable tenacity.
Nose is muted, I get almost nothing from it. some rich maltiness but really nothing prominent
Taste leads with a rich nutty and molasses front note, nice mellow spiciness going on, and something like a dark berry sweetness lurking in the mix too. Super pleasant flavor. This is much better than I expected, and I had high hopes
Mouthfeel is great, smooth with a clean finish.
Overall this is a new favorite. I wish I'd bought a case. Feels like it would age well. Smoother and more subtle and well integrated than I expected. Really wonderful beer.

 

 

look: Dark copper, clear. Modest reddish brown head with lingering, messy lacing.
smell: brown sugar, subtle vanilla, hint of rye spice.
taste: much like the nose. smooth as silk. a bit of sweet balanced by earthy notes and rye spice.

 

 

 

A rye barleywine (ryewine?) aged in bourbon barrels, with a 12% abv... Poured dark brown into an over-size snifter, almost opaque and black in the vessel save for some obsidian brown translucency on closer inspection... It brings plenty of fruits and sweetness and spices to the nose and palate... Rich bourbon and malts inspire notes of deep vanilla, maple, and molasses, with hints of nutmeg, clove, and anise... Chewy ripe fruit suggestions include fig, date, and prune... Smooth and creamy with subdued carbonation and little sticky chew; the body is medium-weight, the sweetness at the fore, and nothing much by way of bitterness... Very much like a high-quality bourbon barrel English barleywine, but with rye... Recommended... $22.99 bottle at Total Wine on Long Island...

 

 

a rye wine aged in bourbon barrels, i thought this was awesome. i always appreciate the strong ales and barrel aged stuff these guys do, i feel like for how widely some of it seems to gets distributed, that nobody really talks about these beers and they never really get the attention i think they deserve. it is hard to imagine a more compelling rye wine than this one, its deep and dark in color, silky smooth and the right amount of sweet in the feel, and as complex as they get, with a deep toasted earthy spice from the rye malt, lots of it, and a candied sort of whiskey character from the barrel, lots of oak, warming baked desserty vibes, and loaded with notes of maple, molasses, spice cake, vanilla, and char. its killer. i get a dark rum complexion here as much as i do bourbon, the sweetness, the layers of barrel and booze, its heavy but it works. enormous body, a long boiled concentrated grain sugar thing, plenty of rye character. its sweet and mellow while also being bold and strong, a complex beer that improves with temperature and could kill someone in high volume. i thought this was great, we dont see enough of this sort of thing, faint smoke in the wood profile, candied apple, even brewed tea. quite the opposite of its name, this is certainly special!