Dave’s Barleywine - Double Barrel-Aged (Rum/Bourbon)
Angry Chair Brewing

Sweet rum & boozy raisin on the nose. The palate is alarmingly smooth; brown sugar, candied citrus, Tootsie Rolls, and boozy oak staves. Some underlying esters & astringency. Could use a touch more viscosity, but the finish is smooth and warm.

 

750ml waxed and capped bottle into a BBT snifter. Shared with schen9303.

Pours dense, dark. No head, no lace, oily, layered legs. Nose is sweet booze, brown sugar, raisin, and molasses. Pungent. I can tell this one's gonna be a sugar bomb. Beer opens syrup, molasses, brown sugar, and raisin. Notes of anise and sweet soy sauce in the middle with a healthy dose of purple grape and oak. Syrupy sweet finish. Body is full with low carbonation. Smooth and slick on the palate and goes down warm with a long, lingering, sticky aftertaste.

Overly sweet. Not a huge fan of this one.

 

 

 

Dave is having us all do a double take with the introduction of his barleywine that blends the English styled ale aged in two different barrels. Both rum and bourbon gives the palate a double shot of delight for fans of this sweet style of ale.

Dave's Double Barrel Barleywine brings and introduction with a handsome set of garnet and crimson hues with hints of mocha through the center. With an initial frothy cap reducing to a trickle, the brandy-looking beer releases a host of sultry caramels, dark fruit, rum and whisky spice, nutty, chocolate and savory aspects of port and sherry. Decadent sweetness hits the tongue with a slather of toffee, praline, molasses, brown sugar and vanilla in a richly malted early tone.

As the ale simmers like crumbly rum cake on the middle palate, bold fruit flavors of date, fig, raisin, black cherry and plum all seem macerated and booze soaked for a decadently sweet character of port wine that grows through the center. Slimly bitter, the late taste offers a hint of balance with oak and spice to take an edge off of the persistent sweetness.

As suggestions of maple and butterscotch keep the complex malt flavors flowing, the ale finishes pleasantly cloying and proves to be a slow sipping session with much delight and satisfaction to the tastebuds. A long and plump malt sweetness ensured an aftertaste on par with finer sherries, port wines and madeira.