Abyssalism
Freak Folk Bier

 

 

This one pours a dark-ish golden brown color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells like caramel, brown sugar, leather, rye, breadiness, vanilla, honey, and maple.

This is absolutely fantastic – a real departure from the sort of beers that Freak Folk usually makes. There’s a ton of interesting barrel character here – maple, leather, char, and vanilla, with some nice rye-like spiciness. There’s a nice honey, caramel, and brown sugar maltiness here, with very little booziness.

This is medium bodied, smooth, and super drinkable for the style.

I hope Freak Folk continues to make beers like this.

 

Pours syrupy brown with amber edges. No head to speak of, even with an aggressive pour. Alcohol legs stream down the glass.. this is no wallflower.

Aromas of fruity campfire, umami, prune spread and bourbon soaked charred oak.

Flavor is super unique, which I would expect from a primarily wild ale brewer. Hard to separate the base beer from the barrel influence, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the base had some unique malts, smoked elements or something else to complement barrel aging. Sweetness is in check, which is always surprising for a beer this strong. It definitely leans to the savory side. More salty smoke, stewed, burned fruits, coconut, dark caramel and figs, with a mouth numbing finish. Reminds me of dark beers from Scandinavia. Always has a seaside bonfire thing going on.

Beer is smooth as silk, despite the alcohol burn. It’s rich, but not sweet. It’s picked up a ton of booze and char from that barrel. Not being totally familiar with Elijah Craig bourbon, I can’t speak to the bourbon’s direct influence, but it’s more salty plum sauce than vanilla caramel like so many other English barleywine. Overall, a really fun beer to ponder and review.