Cherry Brandy Barrel-Aged Belgian Style Dark Ale
pFriem Family Brewers

375 mL bottle most likely purchased at New Seasons in Orenco Station, back in late 2022. Date stamp is hard to read, but appears to be some time in September 2022. Enjoyed in a snifter.

Look:
Dark-brown with burgundy highlights, topped with a somewhat frothy head of foam the color of white peppercorns. The head doesn't last long, but it leaves great webs of lacing behind after each sip.

Smell:
Sweet cherry pie filling, dark toasty malt, candi sugar, and warm brandy. There are grace notes of peppery spice, molasses, and toffee, and an undertow of alcohol.

Taste:
Cherries lead the way and persist through to the end. They are more sweet than tart, yet they are not too sweet and provide just enough tartness to cut through the rich dark malts. The middle is full of toffee, dates, canned brown bread, and a pinch of pepper and cloves. The finish is pie cherries, spicy alcohol, and dark sugar.

Feel:
The medium body feels surprisingly light, due largely to the energetic carbonation. There's plenty of alcohol warmth, but it comes across as agreeable rather than overpowering.

Overall:
When fresh, this beer was a brash combination of cherries and brandy heat, with very little bandwidth for other elements. The past three years have been good to this beer, as the brandy heat has largely died down and the rich cherry flavor has nestled gracefully into the comfy bed of dark, sweet malts. It's an uncommon and compelling argument in favor of aging beer. I wish I had a few more bottles to open over the next couple of years.

Thick, treacly, and sweet, you almost have to eat your way through this tasty beer. The tiny alcohol burn at the end is reminiscent of a flamed Christmas pudding and this makes for an equally tasty, one and done, dessert.

2022-12-25
375ml corked and caged bottle served in a pair of small Cantillon stemmed glasses. No date in the "Bottled on" box on the label, though it does say it's a 2022.

Pours dark dark amber, smallish but persistent head, moderate creamy looking lacing. Lots of active carbonation. Smell is light cherry and booze, maybe some dates...definitely some dates.

Taste is tart cherries, bitter cherry skin, a little raisin/date sweetness, a leathery bitterness.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly light, effervescence is very noticeable -- lively, gives it a refreshing feel (which is dangerous for a 10% abv beer). Overall, interesting and good beer.

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a dark orange red with a fine, two finger aged-ivory head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of candi and mild biscuit malt, pie cherry and fresh cherry. Flavor is candi malt with mild darker malt, cherry fruit and cherry brandy, mild caramel and woody oak, particularly in the finish. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess and sharp carbonation. A pleasant surprise. The aroma was so heavy on the cherry, it almost smelled like a sweet cherry lambic. The flavor, however, is much more complex, with a very nice malt base that was hidden in the aroma. The cherry flavor leans to cooked pie cherries, but there are light cherry esters too that bring the brandy to the fore. Great support for the cherry brandy by the malt, which adds to the flavor density with mild dark brown ale malts. The aroma was a bit one-sided, but otherwise, this hit all the buttons; looks, tastes and feels great. I'm getting another one of these.

On tap.
Surprisingly light on the nose— cherry obviously, as well as some cracker and a slight booziness. Sweet in the mouth, plenty of cherry, a bit of apple, fairly present brandy, and some hoppiness, on the finish. Feel is a bit thin, with noticeable alcohol. It’s good, but not $10 for an 8oz pour good.