Honey Pot - Templeton Rye Barrel-Aged
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

 

Bottled 2/11/2021 - so about 16 months old at this point.

Pours a clear, thin, ruby brown color. Thin, weak khaki colored head forms on the beer, lingers for just a few seconds, then quickly dissipates until just a thin ring of foam remains along the outside of the top of the beer. The aroma on this is unbelievably delicious. Notes of dark fruits, raisin and prunes, toffee, spicy rye, oak, leather, and burned brown sugar. Some rich dark malts come through. A bit boozy on the nose.

For as much as the nose is wonderful on this, the actual taste is a bit of a let down. It's incredibly sweet with lots of raisins, prunes, and toffee, giving way to a boozy spiciness. The barrel comes through nicely but more so in the spice it imparts rather than any oak. There is a light oakiness to the beer - more tannic in nature along with some leather and caramelized brown sugar. Finish is quite boozy - but not surprisingly so for a beer that is 17.3% ABV. Feel is thin - too thin for a beer this big. Warming. Moderate carbonation. Semi-dry finish.

Overall it is a nice wheat wine that utilizes the Templeton Rye barrels nicely. That being said, it has got some issues with the heft and the sweetness that keep it from being truly outstanding. Still, I enjoyed sipping on it this evening.

Bottled on 2/11/2021; consumed on 5/6/2022

Pours a crystal-clear dark chestnut hue sporting ruby shades and topped with a wavy mounds of soapy, pale beige foam, in turn fading quickly to a few paper-thin islands of cap, a moderate, frothy collar, and noblacing holding to the walls of the glass.

Aroma features heavy raisin/fig upfront, followed by rye-soaked honeycomb and a soft burnt vanilla middle; a butterscotch/brown sugar reduction darkens the back end of the bouquet, leaving tones of caramel against a progressive whiskey advancement.

Taste shows baked raisin and rye/oak spice, with soft honeycomb into a mid-palate of fig for a dark fruitcake overtone lingering into a ripe bourbon heat and toffee brittle finish.

Mouthfeel brings a medium-full body with minimal carbonation and a syrupy slickness coating the palate while a warmth drying into the back end and a soft prickle develops to cut a vaguely sticky finish.

The syrupy warmth predominant at the higher octane levels of this style is cut with a relatively nondescript barrel character, washing over an otherwise decadent base with mild bits of oak and whiskey character; a vaguely rye spiced raisin-wine with quieter, honeyed edges results.

This one pours a slightly murky golden color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like honey, caramel, wheat, and booze.

I wish there was more barrel to this one. The honey and caramel are nice on this, but without that barrel, it leans too hard towards cloying territory, unfortunately. It’s just a bit one note without much balance.

This is big, sweet, and a bit boozy. A small pour of this is definitely enough.

I was a bit disappointed in this one - Barreled Souls usually treats me better than this.