Annual '20
Newport Craft Brewing & Distilling Co.

DATE: August 8, 2021... OCCASION: birthday number forty-five is almost in the books, and I am blessed with family, love and good beer--this one, a take-home from our twentieth anniversary trip to Newport... Barley Creek Citrabellum tulip stem... the aroma strikes me before the appearance, with cherry, leather tannins, bubblegum, boozy rum, odd cheese, garage rag, and basement darkness all powering a BIG experience.... its appearance does eate as well, a dark mahogany base opaque and strongly supporting a two-fingered, thickly retentive light beige head... before the first sip, it is clear a LOT is going on in this bottle--would that I had collared it, if I had the patience... the first sip suggests heart burn--an intense, viscous, chewy vision that asserts its strength immediately, a burn on the tongue, heat at the throat, and yet, agreeable in its final account... a sipper, as expected... the rum and cheese seem to dance early, a cask-conditioned mouthfeel that dries the tongue... the tannins create a merlot or pinot noirs appreciability upon which raisins, toffee and vanilla tootsie roll appear... the funk isn't Parliament, but it is does kick the profile up a notch, a complex oaky draw that has me licking my lips.... I'm buying this one, although its price point ($15) was a bit steep for a 25.4 once bottle...however, one only turns 45 once, so this does have its place... kudos to the brewery, who made this available in its flights, eschewing the opportunity to keep it snobbishly apart...

Look - poured into tulip glass. Full 2 finger tan clinging head. Deep mahogany color almost black
Taste- strongest flavor is from red wine barrel. Strong sour taste like a rodenbach grand cru.
Feel- carbonation dominant. Lighter than would be expected in barrel aged beers due to being an aged farmhouse ale.
Smell- sour aroma, cherries.