River of Wolves
The Veil Brewing Co. - Production Brewery

Only my second beer from The Veil, this one arrives in a 500ML bottle thanks to i64br. Mine. All mine.

The pour is very dark brown with swirling notes of cognac & figs coming off the surface.

River of Wolves is just as weird as it sounds on label. Heavy cognac up front mixes slowly with the thermocline of bourbon to something akin to butterscotch rum to bring a low-slung shot of booziness. Then comes the parade: spiciness that must be the nutmeg, figs, brown sugar (emphasis on sugar), which combines to much a sludgy, rather tasty paste. 500ML is a bit of overkill for one normal human. This one, at least.

Hard beer to judge, as the barrels interact oddly & the base beer has been struck by an Invisible Palate spell. Good beer?

 

The beer pours a very light brown head that dissipates very quickly while the beer itself is a dark brown.

The smell is good. It has a very strong raisin smell with a creamy vanilla and nutmeg in the finish. Interestingly enough, the barrels do not come out as much in the smell while the other notes come out very strongly.

The taste is pretty good. The nutmeg comes out more alongside the raisin notes while the vanilla come out more in the finish. The cognac comes out though and blends well with the other notes.

The feel is good. It has a heavy body and very smooth texture that strongly resembles rum.

Overall, a delicious and very indulgent beer worth getting.

Pours so dark brown that it looks black with a 1 finger thick brown foamy head that faded and left minimal lacing. The aroma is ridiculously complex with the final product emulating a fruit cake and rum raisin ice cream. The nose includes toffee, caramel, dark rum, bread crust soaked with maple syrup, raisins, vanilla, grape juice, bourbon, rum raisin ice cream, brown sugar and rich malty notes. No sign of the ABV, just a lot of deserts and after dinner cordials in the smell.

Tastes like it smells with much of the same lineup: caramel, toffee, dark rum, bread crust soaked with maple syrup, raisins, vanilla, bourbon, rum raisin ice cream, brown sugar and then malty notes that seem like bread dipped into a glass of bourbon and then dipped into a glass of rum. Additional flavors include nutmeg, butterscotch, oaky notes and that soft red wine driven brandy essence from the cognac barrels. It’s got soft notes of sweetness and a minor boozy sting, combined with malty and fruity flavors which end up tasting like a fruit cake and rum raisin ice cream. This was really smooth and well done, worth the premium price tag for the 16.9 oz bottle. I will definitely seek this out again.