Double Barrel King Molokai (Laird's Apple Brandy/Bourbon)
The Answer Brewpub

Had a taster on draft at The Answer

Look: Muddy brown color with a thin khaki head. Clings to the side of the glass with no activity that I can see.

Smell: Rich notes of chocolate, coconut, bourbon, green apples, and a pronounced nuttiness. Smells decadent and sweet. More like a candy bar then a beer.

Taste: Deeply rich and candy like. Rich notes of almond joy and mounds bar. Almost all candy notes with nothing really resembling beer. Gets a nice bourbon and apple brandy finish to round it out and take a bit of the sweetness off the finish.

Feel: Big sweetness. Almost no bitterness to speak of except maybe a hint of barrel char. Fine carbonation. Medium plus alcohol.

Overall: A wild tasty beer that I am glad I only got about an ounce of. Very fun to try. Would make a great bottle share beer as trying an ounce or two would be about all I could take without it becoming taxing.

 

 

On tap at The Answer Brewpub in Richmond, VA.

This one pours a blackish/dark brown color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells pretty nice - I get loads of toasted coconut, dark chocolate, vanilla, maple, and apple brandy.

This was the only Answer/Andall beer I liked during my visit. It still suffers from a crazy overt sweetness, but it wasn’t muddled - as the toasted coconut added a more balanced sweetness, and the barrel cut down some of the worst syrupy aspects. It’s still just way too sweet, but I actually enjoyed it.

This is thick and super heavy, with a lower level of carbonation. It’s a bit easier to drink than the others.

This was actually decent and I’d want to drink it again. I wish I could say that about the others.

The Answer Brewpub 051919 Draught

 

 

Drank on tap at The Answer Brewpub, Richmond, VA
Served in a taster glass

Outstanding appearance. A small cap of saddle brown froth topped the near pitch black liquid. Over the next few minutes, the head grew to an insanely tight and creamy, two-finger tall mass that ever-so-slowly fell to a thick, lasting cap. Rings of drippy lacing coated the glass.

The aroma was incredible. Mocha notes dominated. Loads of creamed and sugared coffee. Huge dark chocolate presence too. Rich and fudgey. Big vanilla notes. As the beer warmed, coconut appeared and really intensified by the drink’s end.

The flavor profile followed the nose. Mocha notes came through big time. Huge creamed and sugared coffee presence. Lots of rich dark chocolate too. Big vanilla and coconut notes in the center. More coffee on the back end and in the finish. Slight roastiness but zero alcohol.

Incredibly rich, dense, viscous mouthfeel. Completely full bodied for the style. Almost milkshake like. The liquid contained a super fine, moderate effervescence that turned creamy, slick and smooth on the palate.

While this beer lacked any barrel character (and failed to resemble a barleywine in any way, for that matter), it was amazingly enjoyable and incredibly complex nevertheless. The Answer truly are the kings of adjuncts.

 

 

 

L: Had this beer on-tap, poured into a snifter glass. Had a deep, dark brown color and a thick, opaque consistency. There was a foamy, tan-colored, long-lasting head. Good lacing.

S: A very enticing aroma of booze, coffee, malt, vanilla, coconut, apples, and nuts.

T: Tasted of a mild amount of malt (present throughout), a bit of chocolate, a good shot of bourbon (and its barrel), some of the advertised apple brandy, a hint of vanilla, a lot of coffee, and some macadamia nuts. One of the more interesting barleywine flavors I've tried recently. The addition of coffee, chocolate and bourbon work well together. Delicious.

F: A decent amount of carbonation with a smooth and creamy finish. Full-bodied.

O: A well made and likable beer. Drinkable.