10th Anniversary Massive! Van
Gigantic Brewing Company

Cellared almost 2 years. A dark basically opaque body, beige collar. Barley and piney hops lead the nose with plenty of signature weller barrel aromas behind, the caramel malts support. Taste is a bit of an odyssey: starts sweeter with boozy dark fruits, especially raisin and plum, then barrel with a super rustic character fades in, earthy, woody, and boozy notes abound, barley and hops finish with a hint of toastiness to the back half of the journey. Not as developed as others in the massive series, but complex and highly drinkable with the effects of age. Still have sharpness from the hops, barley and faint carbonation, plenty of warmth though a touch thinner, but dries out nicely.

My 8th iteration of Massive! in a 500ML bottle, split with my wife. Interesting to see how/if this differs from the standard BA version.

Pours dead all day in a dull shade of deep brown that does not inspire an Insta post. The nose is bulk raw alcohol, caramel, bourbon.

10th Anniversary Massive! Van burns a little. I haven’t had many beers where the booziness sears down underneath my sternum. Wooo-hee. Dual elements jump the palate: surprising bitterness & near-lethal bourbon. Drying wood, slag heaps of caramel, complete the picture – there’s probably something else here buried in the fusel alcohol. Glad I split this bottle.

The original bourbon barrel Massive! is far superior IMHO. This is pretty good.

Thanks, Chris.

It looks like a barleywine. It smells like one. And an excellent one. Brilliant barrel character, rich, unctuous, umami rich and layered to go with burnt toffee, caramel and bitters. Chocolate, a little earth. A touch of cereal, but in a bready way. The palate opens with a blend of barrel oxidation and bitterness, with soy, mushroom, umami complementing dark fruit, dark honey, treacle and bitter caramel. Butterscotch, mildly burnt, and a rich bourbon character are present. Just a hint of cereal/corn flakes is present. Medium full in body, softly carbonated, this is excellent. Long, warming but not boozy finish, there's chocolate, caramel, toffee, vanilla and a little tannic bitterness. Marvelous.