Barrel Aged Maple Bear (2018)
Werk Force Brewing Co

 

22oz undated bottle (other than the year) oozes into a pint glass like 30W and boasts a deep black body like a bears den in January and floats a 1in head of cocoa powder colored foam that quickly slinks back into the oily blackness leaving a thin cap and minor erratic lacing.

Aroma is bourbon with a hint of maple.

Flavors include dark chocolate, vanilla, molasses, bourbon, and I eventually detect a maple flavor after the temp rises above 55°.

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, coating the tongue and leaving a slightly sticky, cocoa powder aftertaste.

Overall great look and feel, but the maple is oversold. Very enjoyable, though.

I'm not getting very much maple, or any at all. As far as BA stouts go, I like it. It's not overly boozy, nor is hot. Fairly smooth going down, with some good dark chocolate and bourbon on the back end.

But like I said, there's like no maple to me at all, so I can't really rate it too high. Still enjoyed it though, just wish it had more maple presence.

Top Notch!

 

Had this at the brewery. Listed at 10.4%. This was a little disappointing for me as I like a lot of there stuff. The bourbon flavor was a little much. It was not very well balanced with the chocolate or the maple. In fact I had a hard time finding any Maple. I do love that bourbon smell but this was a little disappointing.

Up there for most disappointing beer in 2018. Love werk force, and especially have grown fond of their sleepy bear series, however this one just completely missed the mark. The body is way too thin, watery, and carbonated. Felt like a watered down porter at best. The taste was also a miss, with nice malt work, some molasses, but way too much booze. The maple is almost completely lost, and reserved for aftertaste only. The smell has a little more maple, but again mostly hot bourbon. Will age the other bottle in the hopes of improvement.

Aging Note: No improvement