Bombs Over Barley - Elijah Craig (2022)
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

 

Sampling a cellar temp 500 ml bottle poured into my snifter. Picked up at the brewery as part of my bottle society stash last fall. This beer was bottled 12/20/2022. Its been in my cellar for the past 10 months.
The beer pours a rich mahogany color and no light passes through my glass. A few small pieces of dredge enter my glass towards the end of the pour.
A fizzy beige head foams up about 1 cm and fades to a thin edge layer soon after the pour. A large island is being re-fed by active streams of carbonation leading to surface activity. But no new foams sustains itself.
The aroma on this beer is on the sweeter side. I get some caramel and brown sugar mixing with vanilla and bourbon notes. Definitely some dates and raisins for a fruity side and no hop presence to speak of. there is a bit of fusol boozey note however, which isnt a surprise at 16.1%.
First sip reveals a medium body with smooth texture and very fine rolling carbonation that gently caresses by palate on each sip. Beer feels like a barleywine.
Flavor is similar to the nose but fruitier up front, raisins and dates again but then some charred wood and bourbon notes come through and the bourbon is less sweet than on the nose. A good bit of fusol alcohol kicks in with black peppery bite and warming on each swallow. Hops are not to be found in this beer.
This is a tasty beer, but is very robust and will be quite a sipper for me. Glad to have tried this one.