Santa's Brass
Drake's Brewing Co.

My rating shows 2019 vintage. It was a very good year for this Barelywine as I must have really enjoyed it from the rating, I gave it. I don't really remember this beer/barley wine, but as good as it was, I would think I would remember it

375 ml bottle into a snifter. 2021 edition, had 9/2/23.

Pours a dark amber, mostly cloudy, with a quarter inch quickly dissipating head and light foamy lacing. Aromas of bourbon, caramel, fig, raisins, vanilla, light oak and char. Fairly similar flavors: bourbon, caramel, malt, raisins, fig, brown sugar, some vanilla. It’s a little sweet. Smooth, a very good medium body, appropriately carbonated.

Very nice. Barrel forward with lots of dried fruit. Flavorful barrels and base. Pretty solid.

Initial taste was wow sugary sweet, really nice high octane brew. No more than 1 in a sitting, not because of 13.5% but the sweetness would overwhelm with more than 1.

 

Poured at room temperature on Christmas morning. Opaque. Ruby/auburn hues. Minimal head/lacing. Notes of dark fruit, caramel, vanilla, toffee, and both whiskey and port on the nose. Really well blended and strong. Taste is wonderful-similar flavors as on the scent, everything works well together. A hint of an oily feel. Big bodied, but an easy dipper, definite alcohol presence. This is exactly what I want from a barrel aged English style Barleywine. I’ll gladly buy more of this next year. Merry Christmas, Santa!

 

This one was poured closer to cellar temp (around 50 degrees). The nose is phenomenal. The barrel really comes through here. Vanilla, toffee, port, raisins, truffle, and some oak.

The taste is wonderful. Super smooth. More viscous that most barleywines. Sweet toffee, brown sugar, vanilla yogurt, figs, dates, bourbon, raisin bread. The aftertaste is predominantly sweet candy/toffee. Mouthfeel is pretty thick bodied. Overall, a wonderful barlyewine!

 

Red-waxed 375ML bottle (& that’s some bitch-wax right there). The struggle made me appreciate the beer a wiggle more.

The pour is a mix of dark brown & very dark red with a quick-flop head & a nose of bourbon-soaked leather, fermented plum, & rich molasses.

Santa’s Brass is like a bourbon nipple. Big barrel up front melts in to a mélange of taconite, toffee, acorn paste, plums, molasses, & a lot of dead, sweet maltiness. A touch thin, which seems odd, but increases the drinkability past where it seems like a good idea to this lightweight.

Impression: sweet bourbon mama. I find myself reaching for the glass too often for comfort. Borderline excellent brew.

Pours a dark brown with a little burgundy tint to it. Head formation is near null. Aroma clings to dark fruits, fig, and caramel. Just beyond that is a small swell of bourbon, barrel character, and toasty malts. In total, it never dips into overly sweet, nor overly hot, meshing out a very pleasant balance despite being potent in the notes it hits. Fun to smell. Flavor profile is fig, toffee, dark fruits, molasses, and caramel. It's all soaked in bourbon, which really starts to show up at the finish. Bourbon brings with it a mild barrel character. Earthy notes undercut the heat, preventing it from burning up the palate between sips. While initially sweet, it lands in a great balance by the finish. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a very still, flat texture. Overall, bold, without being brash. Really lovely bloom of sweet on the front that's soaked up by late bourbon.

Served in a 15.5oz Spiegelau tulip from a 375mL bottle. 2021 vintage, 13.7% ABV.

 

Dark brown body, clear; thin yet lasting head, dense and creamy. Rich malt aroma; aged oak; nuts. Fantastic taste; heavy, earthy sweetness; boozy; hints of dates; toffee and caramel elements; spicy. Heavy body; rich and smooth; velvety; sweet overall yet tempered with alcohol dryness.

What a fantastic ale! This is a rich, boozy beer, rife with flavor. It exudes complexity and depth while staying balanced for the style. Simply lovely.

Pouring temperature: 49 F; bottling data: 2021, aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels

2021 vintage 13.1%

I'd be curious to know what comprises this blend, is it all barleywine? A touch of stout or something Belgian perhaps? Regardless, the result is good. Lots of fruit here, apple, fig, and more, cooked, caramelized, and sweetened for a dessert. A booze drenched dessert for adults that is. There is some Belgian chocolate as well. The carbonation and body are both a bit too light. Unique and delicious.

2021 Version aged in Heaven Hill Barrels at 13.1% ABV! Sweet caramel malty, brown sugar candy, dark fruity raisins, and hint of bourbon barrel nose on this one! Taste follows with a beautifully smooth, caramel-toffee malty, dark fruity, and balanced barrel finish. This is so well done and not overly boozy!! If I had to wish for anything, it would be that I wish it was just a tad more viscous on the palate. This is a local sleeper barleywine...I am not sure that the everyone knows how good this one is! Ha! Outstanding!

 

375ml bottle from Tavour. Dark brown pour with a ring of bubbly beige head. Boozy aroma, malty, brown sugar. Taste comes in sweet, molasses, malty, toffee and alcohol heat. Super smooth and warm.

This one pours a nice golden brown color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like caramel, vanilla, oak spice, dark fruit, and bourbon.

This is pretty under the radar and very well done. There's a nice sweet maltiness here, with good barrel - vanilla, dark fruit, caramel, spicy oak, etc.

This is medium bodied, with no real booziness, and a decent enough drinkability for the style.

This is firmly right in my wheelhouse, and it's quite well done.

The most dark brown possible body, opaque, with a tan collar. The nose is filled with bourbon, molasses, vanilla, barley, and caramel, with oak, coconut, and a dusting of cocoa supporting. Taste explodes with flavor up front: bourbon, maple, caramel, toffee, molasses, big vanilla, brown sugar, cocoa, oak, plum, candied orange, big date, with barley, light wet brown bread, tobacco, char, and leather as a great contrast. Feel is warm with booze but gets hotter as you go down the glass, sweet at first but get cuts back by the finish.