Kuhnhenn Fourth Dementia Old Ale

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

2012 edition/13%abv Not a good looker 30 seconds after initial pour. No head or lace. Sweet and fruity aroma. Very sweet flavour, molasses, dark fruit and toffee. Alcohol warmth and full bodied. Good beer but I think it would have been better after breakfast.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

2012 edition (13.5% ABV) with a best before date 2017/01/01. Pours a copper-ruby colour with a small beige head that goes down slower than expected and slim creamy lace. The nose is loaded with dark fruits; prunes, dates, raisins, plums. Also, rich sweet malts with hints of nuts. Full-bodied with the alcohol very well-hidden. Again, the taste is pretty loaded with the same found in the aromas. Notes of toffee, apples, licorice, spices are also found. A very complex, nice warming brew that is packed with flavours and smell.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

Bottle - I guess my sample was a bit young because I found the sweetness to be offensive from the outset. That, and I’m really tired of tasting molasses and brewer’s sugar in big ales. Yes this has the standard barleywine old ale dried fruit and spices but the cloying sweeness ruins the whole thing for me - pretty unimaginative brew, I just can’t warm up to this ale.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

2012 Vintage
355ml bottle
13.5% ABV (as written on the bottle)
King/Spadina LCBO Outlet (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
April 5, 2013
The beer poured a dark translucent ruby colour with a very thin head and some floaties. Aroma alcohol, raisins, caramel, and molasses. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with ample carbonation. Flavour is sweet with the alcohol leaving a trail down to the stomach. Caramel, raisins, and molasses dominated the flavour but I felt I could detect some candy sugar in the mix. A very good beer, and definitely a sipper!

This was part of the 2013 LCBO Spring release, but this would have been great as a winter warmer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Sturdy sipper, malt forward with a complexity and smoothness that is top notch. Ruby brown in color, thin head and moderate carbonation. Need to get my hands on some more.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

The best beer in the Kuhnhenn lineup for me. Rich bold aromatic and flavour hints abound in this dark brown beer. Lots of sweetness in the flavour like molasses, and dark fruit balanced out by citrusy hops. Ages well.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle courtesy of Kryptic: Poured a cloudy burgundy color ale with a small head with minimal retention and some lacing. Aroma of sweet malt with some dry fruit characteristics. Taste is also dominated by sweet malt notes with some dry fruits (plums, figs). Full body with limited filtration and some low carbonation. No alcohol was discernable which is quiet a feta considering the ABV in this beer. Not as complex as I was expecting but very good nonetheless; a great late night sipper for sure.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Bottled, huge thanks to omhper. Pours out in a hazy mahogany brown colour topped with a low creamy white head. Big, concentrated and deep malty aroma of toasted malts, cookies, nuts, vanilla, butter, fudge, dark dried fruit. Full thick, and chewy flavour but still manages to possess some elegance in the flavour of fudge, nuts, sweet licorice, almonds with subtle vanilla notes. Silky smooth mouthfeel. Long warming aftertaste of sweet licorice, fudge, roasted nuts and salt. World class brew.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottled. Amber colour, mediumsized beige creamy head. Aroma is wood, cellar, some grass and some mild fruityness. Flavour is the same in a good balance, but also shows some signs of alcohol and caramel. Still a wellbalanced and pleasant brew.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Bottled August 2004; Sampled February 2008
A vigorous pour produces a half-finger thick, frothy, large bubbled head that is a dark tan, lightly amber tinged color. The beer is a burnt amber color and shows brilliantly clear, though chunky, deep ruby hue when held up to the light. Rich concentrated aromatics of oxidized malt extract, sherry, buttery toffee, caramelized berry notes, chewy grain and toasted brown sugar encrusted whole grain bread. A touch of warming alcohol combines with the fruit notes to provide some soft notes reminiscent of a refined brandy. As the beer aerates a bit it becomes quite a bit more fruit focused, the berry notes become much more noticeable as the aged malt notes reminiscent of Sherry meld into the fruit character.

Sweet up front, but this seems to dry out fairly quickly. The beer is quite light bodied for its strength, but still has a fullness to it; along with the ample alcohol, the body easily makes this a sipping brew. Chewy, caramelized malt notes combine with aged Sherry flavors, fruity raisin notes and browned, whole grain bread-like notes. The hop merely play a supporting role here, but do provide some flavor to this brew; soft herbal notes are found up front and pick up some steam with a herbal, slightly astringent, bitter note by the time we get to the long, lingering finish. Actually because this beer is not overly sweet, the hop character that is here provides a nicely balanced note between hop and malt. The alcohol, while not aggressive, is most certainly here and provides a warming character that sort of radiates down my throat. The finish has a bit of dark grain character to it as well; at times hints of chocolate and perhaps a hint of roast grain becomes noticeable.

Tasty, contemplative and interesting, I have a feeling this is close to peaking. When younger I think it would have been too sweet for my tastes, but the oxidation has started to temper this brew & the still noticeable hop character adds a nice balance to the rich, layered malt character. Not bad, but something seems to keep this from being great; perhaps it is a lack of a certain rich, complexity.