Barrel-Aged Brabant
Sketchbook Brewing Company

Sweet and strong belgian ale! Tastes similar to Delirium or Chimay.

Dark brown opaque body with lighter edges, tan collar. Dark fruit boosted by the barrel is the clear star in both smell and taste. For smell here is more booze, char, along with dark sweet malts. The taste leans malty with sweet dark trappings and vanillins. Feel is smooth and very warm while staying medium-light bodied but never breaking down. One of sketchbook's better ba efforts

Reddish brown pour, minimal head gone instantly. Nice aroma, fruity, some vanilla and some booze. Taste is also fruity, some heat from the alcohol. This is pretty tasty.

 

An under-the-radar quad. Watch out for it. (And actually, Sketchbook is fundamentally under-my-radar since they are in my backyard and this is only my second from them and I have not been following this potentially great brewer.)

This BA Brabant may not be "retired" per BA, but still seems active per UnTappd. Also a slight difference in my copy... it has a silver strip across the bottom that says 12%. That is not worth quibbling over, either.

We have an amazing ale here that could become as good as great. Its Looks are slightly above average, but really lacks the active protein swirls of the masters. Brabant's Smells are better and bourbony, but vanilla pops out as primary; and the masters offer up, instead, a dark fruit medley. Again, the comparison to Belgium is not entirely fair; but worth noting. Given that it is limited by a lesser yeast, Sketchbook's Tastes are an achievement. The heaps of malt and, probably, brewers sugar never get too sweet; are actually well-balanced, I presume, by hops. There is, however, the issue of alcohol which makes for favorable reviews... but this BDSA is all well done conceptually. And in my mouth, this could be a friend during our Covid winter of discontents.... if I can find it again.

BA Brabant is very good, but not yet great.

I had my only other Sketchbook 32 months ago... before I knew how to write beer reviews and before I started writing brewer quickie reviews. So I owe Sketchbook. And actually I owe them more than I know. I spent ten minutes on their website and its detail and depth suggested to me that they may be in the top 1% of American crafters who understand their role in the Big Sphere Of Things. And for that, I give them so great OA Hugs. But more importantly, I now seek their ales out.

 

 

On-draught @ the brewery.

Bourbon barrel aged.

Dark fruit. Vanillin.

B- / WORTHY

 

750ml bottle that was a reasonably-priced whim, picking up a new beer that didn't yet exist on BA from a brewery I'd never heard of. Quite glad that I did! This is an excellent dark Belgian candi-bomb. A gusher on opening, so beware your counter tops. Rich and redolent raisins and caramelized plums, with some other candied fruit notes like pineapple and dried papaya, but also with some light fusel notes that are unexpected; it's not *that* high ABV. Tastes much the same, but with some barrel oak character and vanilla layered on top. Good stuff.