Chestnut Brown (Rum Barrel)
Country Boy Brewing

 

 

 

Country Boys barrel program is quite phenomenal and this just further solidifies that statement. The flavor starts with a boozy chocolate, almost liquor like. The rum barrel is exemplified as you can taste the rum and get glimpses of oak. There's some decadent sweetness in the forms of coconut, caramel and toffee. This is a must if you hit CB and they still have it left.

Man, what a rum barrel can do for dark beer! Its light oak presence wraps around chocolate and toffee malt while spices join in with the hop balance. Spirited decadence and tawny character offer a plethora of intangibles that perplex the palate as much as they reward it.

Chestnut Brown pours with that shiny port wine tawniness with preferences of legging over that of lace. Bronze and copper hues mesmerize the eye as much as the rum character does the nose. Toffee, maple and candied chestnuts frame the early sweetness while the creaminess is light as the lowly carbonated snuggles right up to the tastebuds with ease.

With textures that hinge on viscous port and sweet rum, its booze-laden middle opens up to reveal light molasses, honey, maple and nutty flavors. Peps of chocolate and butterscotch rise as the beer's barrel influences introduce a woodsy pepper, a tangy vinous grape and berry taste, along with an unmistakable rum spiciness. Its soft nutty flavor extends with elegant cashew and pecan- notably of the honey-roasted varieties.

Long and savory, the beer's medium-full body actually dries in deliberate fashion, largely due to the beer's strong tannins, but its associated flavors of caramel, spices and wood, its aftertaste hovers in the senses deep into the next sip.