Honey Pot - Rum Raisin
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

500ml bottle graciously sent by @sulldaddy in a Barleywine/Stout BIF #2 return fire box
Poured into a Ronan Co-op Belgian-style tulip

2023 bottling; 16.3% abv; My first [non-collaborative] experience with Barreled Souls

P mahogany w/ a foamy khaki ring
N med to med-bold sweet raisins and honey; a bit of sweet and earthy buckwheat as it opens
T delightful combo of raisins, honey, vanilla over a med wheat malt backbone; some booziness but not nearly what I would expect for 16%+; light coconut and sugar cane character as well; super cohesive
Mf light-med bodied w/ med carb; a touch sticky in the finish; supports the profile well
O amazing stuff; drinks extremely/ dangerously well for the huge abv; probably the most notable wheatwine I've ever had! A huge thanks once again for the opportunity, Sully!

Review date: 04.26.25
Bottle date: 03.28.23

 

 

 

Dark colored with an almost purple hue. Thin off-white head that forms a pencil-thin crown. Fusel alcohol and raisin bread in the nose. The taste follows. The booziness is almost abrasive and the coconut rum raisin flavors approach sunscreen territory. Medium bodied and very creamy with restrained carbonation. Not my favorite.

Sampling this 500 ml bottle that was filled in Feb 2021, picked up at the brewery in Oct 2021 and poured into my trusty snifter tonight. The beer pours a rich mahogany color with a fizzy and short lived eggshell white head of 1 cm. This foam is nothing soon after the pour. Higher ABV may be the cause.
Aroma is brown sugar, molasses, butterscotch, raisins, fruity rum notes and some vanilla. Generally sweet nose, but not candy like. THe butterscotch seems to fade after the beer has sat in my glass for a bit. Not really boozy which is impressive at 18%!!
First sip reveals a medium body and very fine yet gentle carbonation. Texture is surprisingly smooth and not very sticky which is also impressive for a big ABV beer.
Flavor is generally sweet with brown sugar, rum soaked raisins, and some toffee up front. The butterscotch on the nose doesnt show through here. I never get any hops anywhere and the ABV is hidden with no warmth and no peppery bite either.
Finish of the beer is sweet but not candy like here either. Brown sugar and a bit of vanilla and some dark fruit flavors.
This is a tasty brew from Barreled Souls, I was worried as I dont like rum a whole lot, but this beer works.

Bottled on 2/22/21; consumed on 12/31/21

Pours a ruddy chestnut body topped with a half-finger of tautly soapy, pale off-white foam; sub-par head retention leaves a few paper-thin islands of cap, a thin, frothy cap, and minimal spotty lacing holding with any longevity to the walls of the glass.

Aroma opens to molasses alongside a deepening raisin reduction, while burnt butterscotch eases toward brown sugar, over the middle, a fruity rum undertone apparent as hints of vanilla and mild barrel come through on the back end of the bouquet.

Taste bursts forth with notes of raisin bread soaked in rum, saturates the palate as charry oak, softer honey, and caramel invite nuances from the spirit and barrel; fruity rum continues into the back end as vanilla, prune, and flambéed orange vie for attention on the finish.

Mouthfeel brings a body on the higher end of medium, with minimal carbonation and a subtle dryness at the forefront; a slick texture develops, parlaying a residual stickiness over the mid-palate into a vague warmth on the back end, where a touch of char and slight, intermittent bitterness offer a more barrel-forward contrast to the finish.

Authentic to its adjuncts courtesy of a confident, well-defined base and more supplementary barrel character, this is a weighty brew embracing a dessert-adjacent overlay amplified by an unusually effective and calm display of booziness.