B/A/Y/S V3.0 - Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel-Aged
Adroit Theory Brewing Company

 

the barrels make this an incredibly intense beer, so much rich dark fruity wine and oak in here, its about as much as i have tasted wine in a beer that isnt specifically blended with finished wine. to get this much out of it is amazing, and to have it come through so robustly in a beer this gnarly and huge on its own is impressive. so much red wine in nose and taste, hints of black cherry, cranberry, raisin, and then the wood, which has some sharp tannic property to it, but also supports the stout really well. coffee notes here in the stout, ash and burnt elements, tons of body, sweet tobacco and plum qualities, brown sugar, blackberry in the flavor. so much going on, id love to try the not barrel aged version for reference, but the flavor imparted by the wine is so profound, very obviously cabernet too, which is rather infrequently the case in the all too common "red wine barrel aged" paradigm we live in. enormous beer, boozy and tannic and a bit sweet too, a lot to take in, improving constantly as it warms. i have not had nearly enough beers from these guys, and a quick browse through their beer listings suggests a pretty impressive, diverse, and adventurous run of beers. need to track down some more...

Pours quite black. Slight tan head, not too brown. Aroma is dark fruit, malt, and maybe because I know this was in cab barrels, I'm getting a grapey sweet.

Taste is winey, all right. That's a trick. Also some burnt toast, smoke, wood. Wet tobacco, and a bitter baker's chocolate balancing out a feel that threatens to be too earthy. No candied cherries, this. A bit ashy and quite sticky in the finish. Feels boozy; the cabernet barrels change the foreground of this quite interestingly. A grapey Russian Stout? In a blind taste test you might think this was a heavy merlot.

The cabernet sauvignon provided a nice accent to the stout character. Subtle dark fruit complimented the chocolate, plus oak for a nuanced and refined drink. Very nice!

 

 

I've had the base beer once before & enjoyed it immensely, though I can firmly state that in terms of depth alone - this variant is quite superior. Pleasantly sharp notes of candied berries & jam play off of a subtle roasted character on the nose & continue diligently on to the palate. In addition, semi-sweet chocolate comes into play & creates the perfect bridge between the lighter & darker flavor characteristics. The Cab barrels really brought another dimension to an already stellar brew.