1964
Steam Bell Beer Works

not sure if there is a separate brandy barrel aged edition of this, or if all 1964 is aged in brandy barrels, but ours was in brandy, their base tripel, jazzed up to mimic white sangria, with all sorts of fruits in here raspberries and grapes and apples and stuff i think, and then in this case anyway aged in brandy barrels for awhile. it sounds better than it tastes though, and unfortunately my first beer from steam bell is a bit of a let down. the pour is rich golden orange, shiny and clear, and with a tall white belgian looking head. it smells fruity and sweet and i get the oak for sure, but where it goes wrong for me a bit is when i taste how sweet it is. it seems like the brandy fortified this with sugar more than flavor, although there is plenty of oak on it, tannic and with more red than white wine characteristics from the fruit it seems to me, red berries and grapes, some citrus here that cuts it a little, and a caramelized or even candied sweetness all the way through, intensely strong in the finish. orange peel and tropical fruit, white wine at the end, vanilla notes, and then the brandy after the swallow. its not bad, but its a bit intense for me, especially on the sugar, but boozy too. we had to work through this one...