The Imageneer - Bourbon Barrel Aged
Rustic Leaf Brewing Company

12 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 9/2019. Pours nearly opaque dark brown color with a small fairly dense khaki head with poor retention, that reduces to nothing pretty quickly. Minimal lacing, and some streaming carbonation. Aromas of big raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, red apple, red grape, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with light notes of licorice, molasses, milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, smoke, oak char, peppercorn, clove, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Slight booze in the aromas as it warms, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, dark/bready/light roasted malts, candi sugar, and bourbon barrel notes; with big strength. Taste of huge raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, red apple, red grape, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with light notes of licorice, molasses, milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, smoke, oak char, peppercorn, clove, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Mild peppery yeast spiciness; herbal, grassy, roasted bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark fruits, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, biscuit, brown bread/crust, licorice, molasses, milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, smoke, oak char, peppercorn, clove, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, dark/bready/light roasted malts, candi sugar, and bourbon barrel flavors; with a solid malt/bitter/spiciness balance, with no cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Light carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety, and lightly sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mild increasing warmth of 10%, with no lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic barrel aged Belgian strong dark ale. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, dark/bready/light roasted malts, candi sugar, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/spicy/tannic/drying finish; fantastic soft/silky feel for the ABV. Perfectly balanced between Belgian yeast, rich malts, candi sugar, and bourbon barrel presence/integration. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding spot on style example.