Ocēlōtl
La Doña Cervecería

 

 

Wow .was on tap at Longfellow Grill . A mezcal BA Barleywine ..yes please! Pours a blond mahogany color with a khaki head . Smell has mezcal agave ,plum, molasses and prune . Taste follows nose with dark fruits ,raisins , date and fig love the mezcal the barrel infusion. Mouth feel has sweetness ,and bitterness ,a great meeting of tequila BA with sweet fruited malty Barleywine .

750ml bottle. Date on label is '10/14/20'. Described as "Our long anticipated Mezcal barrel aged barley wine.".
Amber brown colored body. Thick finger of off white head. Head is creamy and small bubble. Leaves small areas of lacing coverage.
Aroma has the Mezcal smell from the barrel, but the barleywine aromas of caramel/molasses and dark fruit exist beneath. Smells sweet and boozy.
Taste is quite brusque with the Mezcal barrel (which reappears with the exhaling breath) but also has the smoothness of buttery barleywine. Has the barleywine flavors of caramel, molasses, raisin, prune, dates, and general dark fruit. These dark fruit flavors are sweet and combine really well with the barrel notes. Aftertaste gets somewhat dry with the higher ABV%.
Very smooth and creamy mouth feel, with a heavier texture. Good carbonation.
Reminds me of a Mezcal soaked date bar. Sweet and high in barrel expression. Good balance and nothing out of place. Well done brew.

Bottled on October 14, 2020.

Deep brown from the front; dark amber with a backlight, revealing a single column of rising bubbles. Short khaki head from a vigorous pour, receding quickly to an airy bubble ring and half-cap. Some strings of lacing if you tip the glass. Given the ABV, I didn't ding the rating too much on look due to the short head and relative lack of carbonation.

Aroma is bright, almost citrusy, but not really citrus - perhaps this is the mezcal (in any event, I've called it that through the rest of this review ... just be aware, I have no first-hand familiarity with mezcal, and only occasionally with tequila - and this flavor is not tequila). Intermixed with the mezcal are dark fruits, raisins, molasses, brown/burnt sugar. Very, very good.

Taste brings out the mezcal and the barrel, and as with the aroma, backed by the expected barley wine flavors of raisins, generic dark fruit, molasses, and brown sugar. Very slightly bitter on the initial taste, but this fades through the middle and is nearly gone by the finish. The finish is toward the sweet side, but balanced by what bitterness remains and the brightening flavors from the mezcal. I'm enjoying this beer, and despite the price ($20 for the 750ml), I'm glad I bought it for this tasting.

Mouth feel is thick, but not chewy. A tinge of alcohol in the mouth.

Overall, an very good barley wine nicely accented with the Mexican heritage of the head brewer, Dicky Lopez. He clearly knows his stuff. If it weren't so expensive, I might buy a couple more for the cellar to revisit in the coming years. (And, I might dust off my wallet and do that anyway).

 

Weird barrel? New brewery? Barleywine? Stupid big format? Where do I sign! Split with my wife.

The pour is dark red mixed with a teaspoon of good flatland mud. Do you know that some mud has no bottom? It’s true. I’ve stepped in some & live to tell about it. The delicate (at least in diluted form) of mezcal is pronounced, as are some deep red fruits & bwine booziness.

Ocelot is unique – not an easy task in our craft beer soaked landscape of 2020. The mezcal is aggressive, boozy, yet smooth, which is a neat trick. Tangled with the barleywine is a bit grain alcohol, mixed with light apples, pears, plums, more fruit than a bad NE IPA (redundant, I know). The finish holds the potential down a bit with murdered hops, charcoal, & a drunken stumble around Andre’s island. Still strangely easy to drink, because it’s so interesting.

Which is the one word review for this brew: interesting. I haven’t had any other beers from La Dona, but based on this one, I will. Very good.