3B (Barrel-Aged, Belgian, Bitter)
Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall

Pours a clear medium brown, topped with a one finger off-white head, leaves webs of lacing.
Malty, toast aroma, whiskey, wood, vanilla.
Malty, alcohol taste, caramel, light fruit note, woody - a lot of wood at the back, light on the whiskey - I got a lot more of it in the aroma.
Medium bodied. A little too sweet for repeated drinking.

Reviewed from notes.

Enjoyed as a 4oz sample at the Belgian Beer Fest 2004. This really doesn't taste like a bitter at all. Apparently aged in Jack Daniels barrels, this beer is almost a herbed-spiced beer in terms of outside flavor. Pours a light brown color, head retention is poor. Taste of whiskey is very prevalent, though not dominant, with earthly malts coming through. Spicy yet smooth. A fun beer to try.

As AKSP said, our first (and muchly-anticipated) beer of the 11/04 Belgian Beer Festival.

Clear dark honey in color. Off-white lace is thin and spotty. Aromas are not as intense or whiskey-laden as expected. Quite a lot of sweetness here as well. Flavor is bland...muted. There's some boozy notes and caramel sweetness. Certainly not bitter. Finishes on the sweet side. Quite thin, which was very surprising. I hate to say that I'm not even very glad I tried it.

Appearance – This one poured a clear, brilliant brown in color but sported a rather smallish head.

Smell – This is an easy aroma of sugary whisky with sharp alcohol notes. The malts smell very broken down, like a well-aged Belgian almost past its prime.

Taste – I got a lot more from the taste. The malts are heavily-roasted and come with some lively yeast notes. There’s a strong Jack Daniels flavor with some very light hopping (Willemette maybe) and a very sharp sugar syrup finish.

Mouthfeel – This medium-bodied BDA is lip-smacking sweet and actually leaves a sticky film on your teeth.

Drinkability – This is a good, whisky-laced, malty beer that’s heavy on the sweets.