Fruitcake
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

I am sampling a cellar temp 500 ml bottle poured into a snifter. Bottled on 12/18/2023, picked up at the brewery last year and has been in my cellar since.
Beer pours a rich mahogany to darker brown, no light passes through the glass. A creamy dense khaki colored head foams up about 1.5 cm. This foam quickly fades to a sturdy edge layer that remains throughout the sampling.
Aroma is malty, spicy and some fruity notes. Cinnamon and nutmeg carry with some raisin and and pineapple too. Definitely on the sweeter side for the aroma, but not really boozy and absolutely no hops anywhere.
First sip reveals a medium body with very fine tingly carbonation and very slightly syrupy texture. Not really coating at all, and not really smooth and easy drinking either. Sort of in between those two realms.
Flavor is very similar to the nose. Some brown toffee malt and brown sugar with raisins and then cinnamon and nutmeg rolling in and lingering. Spices are definitely dominant but not overpowering. Again, booze isnt present in black peppery bite nor warming hits either. Hops are absent too. Very fruity malt driven sort of sweet beer. Im enjoying it, but Im not sure if the sweetness will get to me by the end of my glass.

 

Pours a fairly clear dark brown until a bit of sediment kicks up at the end of the pour. Minimal beige colored head but it persists and the foam at the edge clings nicely.

Well, it certainly smells like a fruitcake, but the aroma is quite subtle. Besides the malts, the aromas are pretty laid back. Nutty but like mixed nuts - maybe a bit of walnut and pecan being identifiable. Fruit is similar - raisin for sure then some vaguely fruity support players. I can't say the fruit components listed are in there but there is a solid fruit component. There's a faint spice aroma - definitely cinnamon and allspice. The aroma intensifies with warmth but maintains balance.

This is a fantastic tasting concoction. It's a slightly boozy liquid fruitcake. All those components that were blended into the aroma start to make themselves known. The nutty component remains largely walnut and pecan with maybe a hint of almond. Sweet malts, brown sugar/molasses, dark sweet cherry. The added fruits are fairly easy to pick out. Apricot and pineapple, I get a familiar (to me, anyway) little kick of cranberry, and raisin leaning to fig probably supported by the base barleywine. The spices lay on top - but just a little. Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg. There is surprisingly little residual flavor. It hits, delivers, says goodbye - making this sneaky drinkable.

The feel is silky smooth and not "thick" - feels fairly "light", in a way. It's minimally carbonated. A bit of a spice and alcohol tingle, not much bitterness. Pleasantly warming in the belly. A little saliva-inducing at first but ultimately finishes slightly dry.

Man, this beer shows a surprisingly deft hand in the brewing process and recipe development. The ingredients are used judiciously. This, to me, is one of those gestalt beers - the experience of the whole is what matters vs getting caught up on the individual components.