The Oracle BA Cognac
White Pony Microbrewery

 

 

Picked this up at one of the best beer stores ever, Bierhalle Deconinck. This was my second White Pony beer, and my second almost gusher from them. Hope this isn't a trend. Murky mud brown pour with a touch of mahogany and a quickly fading one finger beige head with decent lacing. The nose is typical of a Belgian Quad, malty with hints of dark fruit, caramel, brown sugar, rusty mineral notes, and booze, but not getting any cognac. The taste is malt forward with hints of caramel, brown sugar, dark fruits leather, copper pennies, vanilla, and some subtle vinous notes. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with fizzy carbonation and a warming, somewhat boozey finish. Overall, this was a bit disappointing as the barrel aging was all but absent from this beer. Had I not known it was aged on Cognac barrels, I would have never guessed it. Not a bad Quad, but at this price point, I'm definitely expecting to get what I paid for.

Pours dark mahogany, almost amber towards the light. Small tan head for just a minute or two, not much lacing.
Smell of cognac, or rather strongly fortified red wine, nice oak, raisin, caramel, date, dried fig, dark cherries (hinting some sourness too), faint cocoa.
Really tasty in the front, with fermenting dark grape, fig, mildly sour cherry covered in chocolate. Some orange rind and licorice too. Malts bring some nice caramel to help the dark fruit, but just that, they're not too heavy. In the finish there's a slight hint of dark bread, otherwise just nice wood barrel and a bigger alcoholic warmth that sends straight to cognac.
Medium body, low carbonation, a really smooth drinking experience. Aftertaste rich with vanilla, some cocoa, lingering raisin and dark grape, plus really rich cognac (closer to Port wine, actually, but "cleaner"). Alcohol remains bearable, never boozy.
A really awesome beer, one of the best barrel works in the White Pony collection. A different kind of quad than Teppistenbier underneath, married perfectly with the Cognac barrel.