9th Anniversary Barrel-Aged Blend
Matchless Brewing

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown with little light transmission in the glass and a half finger dark khaki head that dissipates to patches with light lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, cocoa, dried plums, woody oak, red wine and dates. Flavor of dark toasted malt, cocoa, dates, leather, rye whiskey and red wine tannins in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A novel blended ale based on an imperial brown ale, but with the more common stout and barleywine components. I knew the basic blend when I got it, but was leery of the Pinot barreling because I'm usually not a fan of red wine in stouts. In this blend, however, the light tannic and vinous flavors work fairly well. I really did like the melded flavors, they did a fine job in blending. Honestly, I can't really tell the dominant contribution of the base ales, the red wine is the most identifiable, and mostly in the finish. Novel and flavorful, this is a great ale for an Anniversary. Nicely done.