The Bruery Barrel Aged Batch 1 (Levuds)

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

cool! don't remember the bottle number, we were trying to hard to get the weird child wax off .. . Pours a deep gold, some light foam .. . mmm, this is much nicer than the original levud, light saison notes again but with oak and wood .. . good stuff, but like levud, rarity drives this more than quality .. . This is the greatest case of false advertising I’ve seen since I sued the movie The Never Ending Story...

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Bottle Number 141 / 456, 2nd RB Tucson Tasting, Sampled September 2008
This has a low level of visual carbonation, that produces no head. The beer is a light amber hue, that is noticeably darker than the non-barrel aged version. Aromas of Bourbon dominate the nose, but it still is pretty smooth; notes of vanillin, toasted coconut, nose-warming alcohol and a light fruitiness that injects itself at times are all noticeable, but somehow the aroma seems almost too subtle for a beer of this strength.

This is sweeter tasting than I expected, but the alcohol really boosts the perceived sweetness. This has lots of fruit flavors that form a mix of apple and substantial brandy-like notes that are also accented by oak notes of vanillin and lightly spicy oak. This has a hot alcohol finish to it as well as a bit of sharpness. A bit of oxidation seems to play a role here and there are some definite nutty flavors with an accentuating, light sherry note and something a bit like Amaretto. This has a very light carbonation, but it still has a soft prickle to it as it flows across the tongue. This is quite light for a beer of this strength and is in fact quite quaffable.

This is a very soft beer (in both flavor, body and aroma). It is actually amazingly subtle for a beer of this strength. It is almost not beer like; the Bourbon barrel and fruity Belgian notes combine to make this something else. It is sort of a fruity, Belgian-esque something-or-other. Definitely worth the experience and interesting.

Purchased: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach CA