Foster - Wild Thai
Tree House Brewing Company

Drinking out of a snifter at the brewery.
Pours a clear dark reddish mahogany with a minimal head.
Smells of cinnamon.
Nice smooth mouth feel.
Very complex taste - sweet, hints of coconut, cinnamon, backed by bourbon.
Not that boozy.

 

 

Taking the tastebuds to Thailand, Tree House turns a normal English barleywine into something much more eastern. But first, a long two-year slumber in bourbon barrels is needed before introducing banana, coconut and a whole lot of gumption.

Dark garnet and nearly disguised as stout, Foster Wild Thai might be shy on froth but is bold with tawny port appearances with brandy-like legging. As a sultry scent of molasses, toast, char, whisky and tropical fruit swirl about the senses, the first sip is unabashedly sweet with blackstrap molasses, toffee, caramel, honey and brittle with those candied coconut and charred banana flavors adding complexity and charm. Bourbon barrels add their own caramelized vanillans with toasted barrel char, nuttiness and nuanced dark fruit for extra measure.

Don't expect a bitter balance here, the beer is all about decadence, lavish maltiness and complex alcohol soaked sugars meant for sharing and sipping.

WOW! Really nice. Well done.

This one pours a very dark brown color, with a small head, and a bit of lacing.

This smells like very caramelly rum, toasted coconut, caramelized banana, oak, cedar, cinnamon, and toffee.

This is very decadent, but definitely not overwhelming. The rum character is awesome, spicy and sweet, and melds really well with the added flavors of banana, cinnamon, and coconut. There’s lots of brown sugar and caramel here, with some toffee, and maybe a touch of chocolate.

This is medium bodied, not very boozy, and quite drinkable for the strength.

I usually don’t care about adjuncted barleywines, but Tree House does it pretty well here.

 

On tap in Tewksbury.

Presents dark chestnut with a short-lived head of tan. Boozy bananas and rum in the nose. Tacky, chewy mouthfeel. Caramel-drizzeled bananas sauteed in rum on the palate. Nice warmth in the finish. No coconuts to be found.

 

 

 

This is my second banana Barleywine and while it is better than the one from Bottle Logic, I still want more. The base beer verges on stout, dark with no roast but hints of chocolate peek through.

The coconut addition is perfectly toasted and potent. Just magnificent. The cinnamon is good but more prominent than I'd like. That combination relegates the bananas to the background unfortunately. They're there but I want more.

It's a fine beer overall and I'm enjoying it. Thanks

Turbid dark brown just shy of black under a thin, dark tan head that disperses to a fine ring fairly quicky.

Smell is intensely rich of English barleywine caramels and barrel vanillin, accented by toasted coconut.

God damn if taste doesn't blow up with rum cake and molasses cookies before exhaling ooey gooey bananas Foster that's been reduced to thick and sticky with a coconut syrup flourish.

Viscous!

 

 

Sweet caramel drizzled bananas, a touch of burnt brown sugar, dark red plums and prunes, coconut coffee cake, and a rum barrel boozy nose on this one! Taste follows with a thick and viscous, raisin and all-spiced fruit cake, and a spiced rum barrel finish! Wow! This is way better than I was expecting! People get all up in their feeling when it comes to addition/adjuncts in barleywines, but I am all for it when it is balanced and dialed in...and this one is definitely that! So delicious!