Bourbon Barrel Grand Cru 22
Hinterland Brewery

L - Medium-dark reddish-brown. Looks a bit hazy. Tall reddish-off white head - persistent.

S - Toffee or maybe raisin, and cherry.

T - Lots of fruit. Only mildly tart. Cherry, a little caramel.

F - Full

O - Rich, fruity, and full-flavored. Good for slow drinking.

Poured 12 oz bottle into snifter. A cloudy red/copper color with a sandy 1 finger head. Small spots of lacing and a thin collar. Aroma is both sweet and tart. Plenty of caramel, toffee, and bread with hints of vanilla. There is a wonderful fresh bright cherry smell. Flavor is big on the caramel and toffee, but jumps right into the very flavorful cherry. It's somewhere between cherry juice and pie filling. There is a bit of vanilla an bourbon on the finish. This is a very flavorful and complex beer. It is medium in feel with light carbonation. I really enjoyed this and like the creativity.

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass; unreadable bottle code, but is a recent release. Pours fairly hazy reddish orange/copper color with a 2 finger dense and fluffy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lightly tart/sour/tangy red/black cherries, almond, fruit skin/pits, lemon, peach, pear, red apple, red grape, white wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, grass, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, and bread; with lighter notes of leathery/musty funk, bourbon, vanilla, band aids, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Nice aromas with good balance and complexity of fruit/spicy/acidic yeast, cherries, dark/bready malts, and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Mildly unpleasant from band aid notes, but not overpowering. Taste of big lightly tart/sour/tangy red/black cherries, almond, fruit skin/pits, lemon, peach, pear, red apple, red grape, white wine, hay, straw, grass, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, and bread; with lighter notes of leathery/musty funk, bourbon, vanilla, peppercorn, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Light fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and yeast/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy red/black cherries, almond, fruit skin/pits, lemon, peach, pear, red apple, red grape, white wine, hay, straw, grass, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, bread, light bourbon/vanilla/funk, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruit/spicy/acidic yeast, cherries, dark/bready malts, and bourbon barrel flavors; with a great malt/tart/spiciness balance; and zero puckering flavors after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from tartness, tangy fruit, and yeast/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, and fairly acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 10.1%. Overall this is a delicious fruited Flanders red ale style. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruit/spicy/acidic yeast, cherries, dark/bready malts, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the ABV; with the mellowly lactic/tangy/tannic/drying finish. Other than the mildly unpleasant aromas, the taste was spot on for the style. Great balanced fruit, malts, and yeast complexity; with nice bourbon barrel presence. Not overly lactic or sour. A very enjoyable offering.