ARIstotle
Newport Craft Brewing & Distilling Co.

Look: Slightly hazy, golden brown, almost copper color. Not much carbonation or head on this brew. An overall appealing apperance, poured into a large snifter glass.

Smell: Definitely a complex nose, full of a variety of spicy, sweet, and fruity notes. There is an interesting mixture of oaky/fruity/spicy notes that is a bit hard to place, but I definitely smell molasses, brown sugar, vanilla, caramel, almost bourbon-y. This beer is aged in rum barrels so there are a lot of sweet notes and tannins coming through. There is a distinct bready yeast characteristic present, spicy notes of pepper/clove, and a bit of farmhouse funk. All of the aromas play very nicely with each other, and allow for individual notes to come through.

Taste: The beer definitely opens up as it warms, and the small amount of yeast sediment (retained until the final few ounces' pour) adds an extra layer of complexity. The hops in this beer are almost subdued by everything else going on, with the malty character and oaky tannins dominating, with along with some farmhouse funk. Even though the beer has a fair amount of sweetness that comes through, it is overall dry and the complexity and bitterness of the tannins make it balanced and refreshing. Perhaps a bit more carbonation would make the beer more enjoyable, but then again it may not be needed with this type of style. Maybe another bit of constructive criticism would be to reduce the amount of residual sweetness in the finished product.

Feel: Mouthfeel is medium to full-bodied. The flavors linger in the mouth for several seconds after you have taken a sip, and you just want to drink more of this beer.

Overall: This beer is in a way like no other beer that I've had before and also in a way like so many other good barrel-aged beers that I have had before. I would say that they are definitely doing something right. It's been a while since I have had those beers, but I am reminded of Allagash Curierux and/or Odyssey. Sometimes I find that the wild fermentation process causes these types of beers to take on unpleasant, medicinal flavors at times. That is not the case for this beer and I found it to be thoroughly balanced and enjoyable.

I am sad that I may not get to come upon this beer again, but I would definitely be excited if I had the chance to taste it again!