Flathead Cherry Bourbon Barrel Aged Ivan the Terrible
Big Sky Brewing Company

a glorious surprise to find on tap when i hit up the brewery for the first time this week, i guess they did a few special taproom only editions of this recently, and it was great to see this jazzy version of their iconic original, had to have it! the cherry part is there in the nose in an almost tangy acidic way, cutting some of the obvious sweetness and intense whiskey notes, while in the flavor is sweeter itself, almost baked or dried, kind of concentrated and more of a granola thing with all the malt, the hint of raisin and honey that are also in here, it stays fruity and identifiable as cherry, but its not overdone, its in service of the base beer, which is how it should be, very cool what the fruit does here, maybe adds some additional fermentables too, as this is a fair bit stronger than even the normal barrel aged version has been in the past. not much head on this, and not much carbonation, its really slow moving because its so full and so still, and then factor in all the alcohol, which does come through quite warmly, and the residual sugar, and this ends up being a monster in a glass and a little bit sure goes a long way. the bourbon is great, brings out some chocolate in the malt, packs in caramel and vanilla and oaken richness too, and it lingers longer than even the bitterness of the roast. i can still appreciate a little english ale yeast in here which i like, or something similar anyway, its not totally neutral and i prefer that in the style, and i think its subtle in some ways, not one of those new fangled dessert stouts, more traditional even with the fruit. tasty stuff, huge, but interesting and a cool twist on the classic we all know and love. always awesome to find the heady stuff like this on a taproom visit!