Reservoir
Ratio Beerworks

 

 

on tap at fire on the mountain, this is a good one. fashioned as sort of a session barleywine. it has all the malt flavors and layers of a good barleywine, caramel malts and toffee and dried fruit, without the sugars and the hot booze. not hurting for depth in the least, this has a lot of english and american barleywine aspects to it. raisin and date flavors from the grain, notes of maple and brown sugar, and a hint of oxidation that i think is almost critical to tie these types of beers together, but i may be in the minority on that one. still has a lot of body too, but more carbonation than i am used to in the style. very drinkable for what it is. i get a finishing flavor of vanilla, and reckon it would do pretty well in a bourbon barrel for a little while, these guys probably have that in the works already. i have not had a lot of beer from ratio so far, but am starting to see their tap handles around town a little bit. i hope this one is a sign of things to come, its an excellent winter beer and a style i wish we saw more of from the local guys...

Nice malty option on a cold day.