Absence Illuminated
Sante Adairius Rustic Ales

 

Nose was raisin and molasses, some bit of spice. Maybe rye? Salted caramel and bourbon taste, little black pepper. I can see where others might have found this too salty, for me the sweet and boozy notes balanced it out. Thick, rich mouthfeel. Some heat on the finish but drinks really nicely. Its a huge beer, very interesting. Overall highly enjoyable. The beer is really captivating in how unique and layered it is. It wants to you keep sipping and discover more. Hard to find flaw in this beer, though if anything I would like some more to the nose.

 

Appearance - The beer poured an inky black color with a chocolate brown head crowning the pour.

Smell - For as bold as the taste was, the nose seemed a bit tame. Bourbon was noted, but the other elements were faint.

Taste - The initial taste was so rich and boozy. Rich caramel was accompanied by butterscotch and light milk chocolate. Well balanced bourbon notes stayed in the back ground, warm but definitely not hot. There was a creamy/buttery note to the beer that suggested it may be turned. Drink it soon if you have it.

Mouthfeel - With minimal carbonation, the beer was so rich.

Overall - I am grateful for being able to try such a rare beer. Thank Bret!

Can from brewery.
L: black and thicc, almost no head. Very dark brn.
S: chocolate, vanilla, wood, bourbon, slight overripe fruity notes.
T: same as above. Almost no boozy presence. No burn. Whiff of bourbon flavor.
M: super viscous. Syrupy. Reminds me of Hypermash Hydra. Almost chewy.
Overall: pretty fantastic. Glad this didn’t come in a larger format. I generally do t care that much about boozy burn, but it is impressive that they hid it so well. I honestly can’t tell any difference between this and a stout.

 

first packaged ba beer from sante adairius, double barrel porter. been waiting a looooong time for this and all it took was a world wide pandemic to make it happen lol

looks completely black, even pours completely black!

nose is crazy, lots of barrel, roastiness and some banana. i’ve had this before in ba stouts where i pick up banana in the nose, not sure where it comes from but it’s pleasant.

i was expecting the flavor to be too much heat. i dunno what they did but it’s huge barrel with ZERO heat, real nice roasty base, very easy drinking.

body is smooth but medium thin. i would have loved a huge thick body but being a porter this is right in line.

i dig it, i’m waiting for it to warm even more because it’s getting more decedent. i saw some say it’s a sipper. it is big but with zero heat it’s going down wasy to fast