"You are holding something special - one of only 1800 bottles released and numbered." Our bottle says Release #5. "Smoked cherry wood malt brings a smoky sweetness to the caramel malts and a bit of peat flavor with a Belgian-style yeast. The entire batch aging in the whiskey barrels nicely dries out the perceived sweetness of the caramel malt leaving an almost scotch like taste." This is part of Epic's Exponential Series and is 9.9% ABV.
Overall average rating: 8.0/10
This beer is opaque and dirty (lots of sediment floating around). It is a red amber color with an off-white, moderately diminishing head with lacing on the glass. We smell yeast, malt, a touch of citrusy hops, and nutmeg/allspice. We also get stone fruit and a dark, earthy floral - presumably the smoked cherry wood. The taste is rich, Chris compares it to a Belgian dubbel. The taste lingers on the center of the tongue and is very unique. We discussed anisette or fennel mixed with the oak with the yeast adding sweetness.
Shawn- I love how many different flavors you get. It is crisp but not completely clean, in part because it is bottle-conditioned. I enjoyed it, but I expected more smoke in the flavor, 8.25/10.
Angela- This is thick and sweet, and a very good beer for what it is, it's just not my kind of beer, 7.25/10.
Chris- I really like this, though I think it would be better aged. It was made in March and bottled in May, but I think it would be excellent after aging, 8.5/10.
