It’s been a long, tough day, cleaning, prepping the house, and meeting with our realtor. But today, we now have a for sale sign in our yard. We’re nervous as hell about moving, and to take the edge off, I decided to open up this big beer. This is another beer my sister brought me from her trip to Asheville, NC. It had a price tag of $8 on it. The label is a bit cheesy, but I hope you can’t judge this beer by its label. It says it was bottled about a year ago.

Location: Poured into a Sam Adams Perfect pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL.

Numbers: 8.5% ABV, ~250 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It’s a dark reddish-brown in color and is very clear. There wasn’t much head on it, and the little there was fell to just a thin creamy ring around the glass. The aroma is a mix of caramel malt, nuttiness, and bourbon barrel.

Taste & Feel: The body is medium and the mouthfeel is somewhat crisp. The flavor up front is a sweet malty nuttiness. The nuttiness grows in the middle, and fades to the background in the finish. The bourbon barrel roasty charred flavors open up in the finish with some, dominating the other flavors, and last in the aftertaste for a brief time.

Food Pairing: I had this beer with pizza, and it was OK, but I think it would probably go best with BBQ. The sweetness, nuttiness, and bourbon flavors are a natural fit with BBQ.

Overall Impression: I really enjoy bourbon barrel flavors, and this beer had a good amount of it. The nutty flavors up front were nice, but between the aroma and finish, the bourbon barrel flavors dominated. Overall, it was a good beer , especially for those that like bourbon barrel flavors.

My Rating:

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