Cocoa Maestro
Alesong Brewing & Blending

 

 

 

Granted, I haven't had the chance to try the regular Maestro yet, but speaking as someone who often has mixed reactions to barleywines, this is excellent. The base comes through enough to give me an impression of the base beer, which is very complex, with each of its four barrels types coming through with nice effect. The chocolate makes the biggest impression here though, which isn't to say that it's overpowering by any means, but it does significantly cut the maltiness enough to make this a a barelywine for both barleywine fans and those who aren't so fond of the style. It's too bad this was such a limited release, because it's excellent. Here's hoping they make more next year, and here's to Matt Van Wyk and his team, who were amazing to deal with in addition to making awesome beer. I could see a beer like this become very sought after if it gets more exposure; count yourself lucky if you got a bottle!