Predictably, the beer steadfastly refused to give up any head. I'm not sure if it's the increased alcohol or something that the wood does to the beer that's inside the barrel, but none of these beers can sport many bubbles. As a result, the dangerously dark brown beer appears completely naked. The smell from the beer is therefore unabated as it goes directly from the top of the glass to my nose, and it is welcome there. I can definitely smell the Cabernet with some cherries and some wood. Not sure I am smelling a whole lot of beer, but a smell is not a taste.First sip is quite heavy. This beer is laden with the alcohol of both the whiskey and the wine. The wood is a pressure laying on top of that, and the beer is trying to squeeze some semblance of a taste of charred grains in the middle, but it's really not succeeding. It's not that the sip isn't very good; it's just that it doesn't taste a whole lot like beer. The beer isn't being given enough room to breathe.
Tip-in is wine on top of charred grains, light coffee, and wood. The middle is a luxurious swamp of molasses infused earth, wood, vanilla, cherries, and very light mocha. The finish is a sudden departure with the bitterness landing hard as the whiskey asserts itself and the alcohol dashes forward to ensure that no one thinks that this is a beverage for anything but adults. The smoky, charred trail off echoes the alcohol and the wine.
Bottom Line: This is a good beer that can stand up to the cask it was aged in.
4.5/5
