Photo from jameshartle.blogspot.comIt's Sunday, football's on, the sky is overcast, and breakfast was a few hours ago. Nothing better than cozying up with a tasty interesting beer to make the Giants/Redskins game a little less painful to watch.
Heavy Seas' Mutiny Fleet is a showcase of unusual beers with 8%+ ABV. Their website indicates that these beers are designed for aging, and many are an extremely limited release in 22 oz bottles and some draft. This particular barleywine style was aged in cabernet barrels (the one I'm drinking) and bourbon barrels. Our local beer sherpa only got one or two cases of this little beauty, so we decided to pick up a $7.99 bottle.
Appearance: The beer has a rich, thick dark brown color that reminds me of molasses; this is definitely one of the unfiltered brews of the Mutiny Fleet. My glass doesn't have any head as the photo indicates.
Aroma: My first whiff of this beer had me saying, "Whoa." I get a delicious dark, chocolatey, fruity aroma, and I can already detect the presence of the cabernet just in the smell. I can definitely tell that this is a high alcohol beer, I even get a little bit of alcohol burn in my nose while smelling it.
Taste: As I drink this beer, I can't help thinking of chocolate covered cherries, the kind with the liqueur filling, because I do get a bit of alcohol burn at the end. However, the tasting experience is not too sweet, and it's a delightfully different and interesting beer drinking experience. I feel like I'm drinking a Christmas treat.
Mouthfeel: I'm usually a in favor of the notion that more carbonation is always better, but the carbonation on this beer is understated, and I still like it. It compliments the unique flavor without overshadowing, and it's a nice tasting experience overall.
Overall: This is a bad ass beer, but the fruity aroma and dessert-like flavor still make this beer accessible. It could probably get overwhelming in large quantities, but that's probably why this beer is relatively rare; it's not meant for large quantities. At $7.99 a bottle, I would say this is a great deal. I would not recommend pairing it with a meal; perhaps it might pair well with some goat cheese and crackers, but this beer is probably better when experienced by itself. A-
This beer scored an 86/100 on Beer Advocate, earning it a 'good' (80-89 points) rating (as opposed to 'world class' (95-100), 'exceptional' (90-94), 'average' (70-79), or 'poor' (<79)). Worth a try if you can find it.
No comments:
Post a Comment