Wood Series: Manhattan-style Belgian Quad
Sunriver Brewing Company

so impressed with their barrel aged stuff, havent had them all, but was so stoked on drinking through a few of them in a recent session, these guys really are firing on all cylinders right now! this is a quad at its core, aged in nice bourbon barrels, and that alone would be enough, old world belgian yeast esters, sweetness, vanilla and barrel char and toffee richness from the bourbon, layers of brown sugar, bran muffin, maple, and raisin, complex already, nice autumnal vibes, alcohol warmth, grainy body, near belgian level refinement, its all there, slightly subtle on the ferment i suppose, but very very good, yet they take it further. it is conditioned on orange peel and dried cherries, which add wonderful depth to this, light zesty aromatic orange picks it up a little bit, marries so well into the bourbon richness, and adds just a bit of needed acidity to the very end, not real strong orange, but just right, and correctly proportioned i think for the cocktail theme. the cherry part is neat, dried is a cool call, some leathery and raisin and black fig character, some acid too but also some sweetness, well integrated and also well dosed to be an accent not a driver, killer of course with the bourbon, but not quite to luxardo level decadence on the palate. deep amber red to mid brown on this one, not as viscous as expected for its strength, not as heady in the glass really as i look for a belgian to be either, but thats okay, some shine to this, slower paced, very strong in the nose, the alcohol really is forward, but more well integrated in the flavor with the robustness of the bourbon and the oak together, its not too hot. more of the orange and the cherry as it warms, but like specialty grain in this kind of does some of that too, lots of nuance to this, and i like the slowness it kind of begs for. sweet, notes of honey and date, fruity through the middle for sure, belgian esters and whiskey at the end, warm exhale. really solid overall, ambitious and intense beer, small doses kind of thing, but impressively orchestrated. i think this side of sunriver deserves more attention than it seems to be getting, these beers are really cool!

Once again Sunriver has produced a complex barrel-aged ale as an entry in its 'Wood Series'.
It's a sipper - and a great one at that. Deep amber color, minimal head. The taste harkens to both the Belgian aspect and the Cocktail aspect.
It's sweet, yes - but that's to be expected. Mouthfeel is rich.