Mecha Planetoid - Maple Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Modern Times Beer

 

 

Sampling a cellar temp 22 oz bottle poured into my snifter. the beer pours much more like an imperial stout than a barleywine.
Beer is a rich black coffee color with some deep garnet highlights when held up to the light. A creamy dense tan head of .5 cm foams up and fades to a sturdy surface layer slowly after the pour.
The aroma on this beer is malt forward with dark chocolate, rich bourbon notes, vanilla, maple syrup, raisins and red grape, some port wine, and a bit of a molasses note. Very rich, robust and deep nose. Definitely hints of a sipping beer.

First sip reveals a medium body with sticky slightly syrupy texture and very fine, soft rolling carbonation. The beer is very pleasant on my palate.
Flavor is what I expect from the nose. Lots of malt depth, but not overly sweet flavoring. I get some light molasses hit, followed by bourbon and maple notes and again, some dark fruits. Primarily fig and red grapes is what I pick up here. Finish is a little more bourbon and some sweet vanilla. Definitely a sticky coating on my lips and some warming booze on my throat after each swallow.
This is an interesting beer that straddles barleywine and imperial stout in my opinion. Really glad to have tried this one and would love to get another bottle. Really enjoyable brew!!

Bomber at share. Nice mahogany pour with a small bubbly tan head. Aroma is maple, roast, chocolate, brown sugar. Taste adds a bit of bourbon and booziness to the mix. Smooth, silky, sweet, strong.

This has a dark cola reddish-brown look to it, but ultra viscous and opaque, with a short tan head quickly dispersing to a thin fuzzy collar.

The feel hits first more than anything else, as this beer is super smooth and thick, feeling almost like a damn milkshake. Flavors of soft milky chocolate are lightly accented by a fine maple that is more like softened brown sugar, as opposed to any sort of overly cloying maple. From here the body becomes frothy and a tingly heat comes out on the exhale, surfacing candied nut and dark toffee. At times it verges into stout territory.

At first it seems like it's really easy to drink, not hot or overly powerful or pungent as some barleywines can be, but then the thickness becomes a little overwhelming. To some this comes across as sticky sweet, but for me it was just heavy.