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Whiskey? Oh, we've done that. What we need today is beer aged in a wine barrel. I opined about the odd choice of Innis and Gunn beers not having been porters or stouts. Well this is a stout. I think an imperial stout should be a good choice, as the wine (and accompanying alcohol) will mellow the stolid malt out as it sits in the barrel quite a bit to let the sucker really stretch its legs.
Not unexpectedly, the beer is very dark. Is it black? I'm no physicist, so I can't say that it is completely devoid of light, but it looks pretty black to me. The tan dust of bubbles doesn't exactly erupt from the beer, but the minimal head sticks around with no signs of leaving. The aroma is quite boozy. I don't know that I would have picked this out as being aged in wine barrels. It smells very heavily of alcohol. Underneath, I think I smell some vanilla and coffee.
Bottom Line: Not quite there.
First sip is sweet with wine and alcohol that doesn't know how to hide. Behind it is a surprising chocolate and vanilla mix that has a bit of earth to... well, to ground it, I suppose. It is a very sturdy sip, but it's not knocking my socks off. All it is so far is a beverage of alcohol that isn't doing much to highlight and compliment the alcohol. Instead, it is letting the alcohol run away with it.
Tip-in is nearly undetectable carbonation with sweet red wine and dark chocolate. The syrupiness of the beverage cannot be overstated. The middle shoves an icepick of bitter alcohol at the back of the tongue while vanilla and chocolate cherries try to catch your attention in front, but they are losing this battle hard. The finish is dry and sweet with bitter once again making itself known for the trail off.
Bottom Line: Not quite there.
1.75/5
