Witch Meadow Black (2019)
Fox Farm Brewery

Appearance is standard for the style. Aroma is magnificent. Chocolate, molasses & booze all come bursting from the glass. Exceptional smelling. Roasted malts show up on the tongue in a way they don't in the aroma. Just the right amount of roast and sweetness make this very, very well balanced. Nice alcohol warming. Overall, this has held up extremely well. Delicious.

This pours as black as 3 am with a dark tan head. This beer literally swallows light. The nose is led by barrel notes, a rich dark chocolate aroma, and coffee and stone fruit notes courtesy of the Cascara, which a bit of research revealed is a herbal medication used for centuries as a laxative. So I have THAT going for me.

There’s a bit of booziness on the taste, but the dark chocolate and stone fruit flavors keep things in check, and the vanilla and gingerbread flavors courtesy of the Amburana wood provide a savory component that really elevates this.

This is a “Top10 for 2020” beer for me. What a pleasure this is to drink.

On tap at Novare during stoutfest 2020

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like cinnamon spice, cedar, chocolate fudge, oak, roasty coffee, gingerbread and dark fruit.

This is a deconstruction of the idea of a pastry stout. It's got coffee - but not like you'd expect, with the use of cascara giving it a dark fruity vibe, like dried cherry fruit leather, kind of. The amburana wood gives off cinnamon and gingerbread, kind of makes the oak character feel like cedar, giving it extra warming spice. The bourbon adds a touch of boozy spice, and some leather. This will certainly not be for everybody, as a whole bakery wasn't dumped into it. But I certainly am enjoying it.

This is medium bodied, maybe slightly thin, with a touch of lingering booze. It's certainly a pretty slow sipper.

This was really unique, and goes against the grain from what people expect from barrel-aged stouts these days. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

2019 Vintage (bottle no. 483/1150)

Pours a glossy jet black body topped with a slight finger of thick mocha foam retreating quickly to a creamy constellation of thin cap and frothy collar; virtually no lacing left on the glass.

Aroma features an array of toasted malts with peanut tones upfront, warming to reveal wisps of cinnamon and refined cocoa powder through the middle with a touch of bourbon heat informing cherry-laced coffee, caramel and vanilla bean into the close.

Taste shows denser roasty malts to open the profile, along with subtly boozy barrel meshing with earthy cherry essence; a firm cocoa/mocha middle with slightly bitter coffee grounds past the mid-palate; touches of booze take a soft but established place in the background into a finish highlighting cherry skins, vanilla and bourbon.

Mouthfeel offers a silky medium-thick body accompanied by a light but fluffy carbonation; slick and oily; past the mid-palate sees an encroaching roasty bitterness, with a semi-sweetness regaining some ground on the finish, with only minor hints of alcohol felt across the palate; a primarily dry swallow and mildly sticky lingering.

Deep and integrative, with a steady expression matched by a consistent balance throughout; there's a ton of complexity to pull from this steadfast sipper, leaving me only wanting just a bit more rounded character from the amburana and cascara to bring it to the absolute highest tier of BA stouts.

500mL bottle purchased at Fox Farm. Bottle No. 108/1150. Pours a viscous black with virtually no head. Virtually no lacing. The nose is toasted malts, dark chocolate, wood, bourbon, coffee, cinnamon and chocolate covered cherries. The taste has lots of wood, bourbon and cinnamon at first followed up by the coffee and chocolate. Vanilla, nutmeg, toasted malts and earth. Tons of flavors packed into this one. Boozey, woody finish with chocolate covered cherries, cinnamon, toasted coconut and nutmeg. Heavy mouthfeel with low carbonation. Boozey, but not overly hot. Another great version of Witch Meadow.

 

Sampling a cellar temp bottle poured into my snifter. Traded with @mkozaka who picked up a the brewery. Thanks!
The beer pours a solid jet black color and the foam that rises on the surface is the darkest head Ive seen on a beer in a long while. This is a dense creamy foam layer of about 2 cm that fades quickly to a sturdy edge layer and some wispy islands that float across the surface of my glass.
The aroma on this brew is pretty bold and is all malt with roasted notes and dark chocolate. I also get a sort of sweet scent, almost like toasted coconut, some sweet bourbon and a bit of a light fruity note that is sort of cherry like. Quite interesting and appealing nose. No hop presence here and even with the bigger ABV, the scents are not boozy but more of the bourbon specific notes.
The first sip reveals a velvety smooth texture and medium to thick body with spacious and mild carbonation. This beer feels really drinkable, which could make the 11.5% dangerous!
Flavor is similar to the nose and also very enjoyable. I get a good bit of dark chocolate and some vanilla mixing with a sweet hit of bourbon and some roasted coffee notes with dry wood with a bit of that same cherry flavor that I noticed on the nose.
There are no hops presence and the booze does show up on the finish with some warming after every swallow. There is my reminder that this is a big ABV brew!
A sort of sweet up front but then more wooden or fruity notes and then finishes with just a bit of sipping warmth.
Quite an interesting brew and some nice diversity in flavors and aromas. Im glad to have tried this one and would definitely get another bottle if it was available!