All the Leaves Are Brown Bourbon BA
Tempest Brewing Company

Ebony body with beige head with a fine texture and fast fading. Nose: molasses, caramel, chocolate, cherry, vanilla, maple syrup, resin, wood and bourbon. On the palate: caramel, chocolate, dried fruit, plum and dehydrated cherry, nuances of vanilla and oak, maple syrup and gentle ethyl embrace. Dry, resinous hoppy finish. Aftertaste with a return of maple syrup and bourbon. Medium and round body and low carbonation.

DECEMBER 2025.
This is their Imperial Brown Ale, aged in "Heaven Hill" Bourbon barrels for six months and fermented with Grade A maple syrup.
45 IBU, Malts: GP, Chocolate, Munich, DRC, Oat, and Cara. American hops.

Last batch Keg (2025): Allowed to cool slightly in the glass, it completely envelops the mouth and palate as soon as you taste it: very full and (very) sugary flavor (leaves slightly sticky lips). Main notes of maple syrup, cooked sugar, caramel, and chocolate, with woody notes (of dried bark) in the background. Smooth finish with hints of toffee.

Home cellar bottle expired in September 2023 (Lot: BN 554): medium/full body (not oily or heavy as one might expect from a beer of this caliber), velvety flavor that fades quickly: the first hint is maple syrup (light, not overpowering), followed by notes of dark chocolate; I detect woody notes of bark, tobacco, and light toasted grains.
The complete absence of iron or oxidation notes is definitely noteworthy.
The finish is smooth, with a slightly drying sensation on the tongue (reminiscent of cigar ash) and leaving only a slight sweet and alcoholic note on the palate.
Sweet, but not cloying. I found it easier to drink than the alcohol content would suggest.

 

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a medium, fluffy head. Smells of bready, toasted, caramel malt, with some quite nutty aroma, as well as some chocolate and hints of maple syrup, vanilla and Bourbon-soaked oak. Taste is an excellent balance of bready, toasted, caramel malt, some chocolate covered nuts, with notes of walnut, hazelnut and dark chocolate, as well as lighter maple syrup, vanilla and Bourbon-soaked oak, with just a hint of bitter, earthy hops as well. Finishes bittersweet, with a light/medium bitterness and some toasted malt, nuts, chocolate, maple syrup and Bourbon lingering in the aftertaste.

Brown Ales are a rare find in these parts, so this barrel-aged example of the style was a real treat with its subtle complexity and great balance of sweet and bitter notes. I really like the interplay of the dominant maple syrup and nutty notes here, which provides a great balance of sweet and bitter elements that is enhanced by some vanilla and dark, bitter chocolate, while the barrel-aging really shines through here with a very nice, mellow but warming Bourbon presence in the finish, which doesn't feel too boozy at all, while providing some musty, earthy oak as well, along with the subtle, earthy and bitter hops.