Evolution Migration Series (Winter 2010 - Bourbon Barrel Dark Ale)

Brewed by Evolution Craft Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Salisbury, Delaware USA

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

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Dark brown colored pour, thin head, weak lacing. The aroma was strong bourbon overkill, vanilla, oak, and chocolate. The flavor followed with strong bourbon, vanilla, some oak, and forward tasting and assertive chocolate the only redeeming beer element of this flavor amalgum. Man, why do folks need to over-bourbonize things? I could have taken some bourbon, watered it down, and added Hershey’s chocolate and gotten the same thing. At the same time, in releation to peer bourbon attempts, this was pretty drinkable and tasted decent, just hard to call it beer, which is what I rated it by. (Yes, tell me rating to style is silly and I should be more hedonistic, but I hope we’re all rating stuff as a beer.... and this was hardly that.) Mouthfeel was sticky.

Not even a clue where this came from on DLD. It was hiding at the end of the table with the Gratitude. Good beer though: seemed like vanilla, honey and coconut with a hint of the barrel. Fine.

Brought this along and cracked into it at Dark Lord Day. Poured a dark brown with a tan head. Aroma was bourbon notes, a bit boozy, with a sweet malt character, chocolates, vanilla. Flavor was a very enjoyable bourbon, vanilla. A touch of toasted characters. Pretty good.

Pours black with a light tan head. Aroma is all bourbon with hints of vanilla and chocolate. Flavor is bourbon, vanilla, chocolate. Very sweet overall. Medium bodied with light carbonation.

Tap at ck. Dark brown pour with a thin beige head. Big caramel toffee malt character, hints of brown sugar and molasses, and bourbon vanilla. Dark fruit component comes through powerfully as well. Dark sugar and vanilla booze lead to chocolate and caramel. A tad cloying for me. Palate is medium with an oily texture and low carbonation.

750ml Bottle (2011 version, which is "Winter 2011 - Bourbon Barrel Dark Ale." Bottle 896 of 900.): Aroma of malt, oak, Bourbon, vanilla, coconut, and chocolate. Poured pitch black in color with a small to medium-sized, cream, dense, brown head that diminished but lasted throughout as a film on top of the beer, as well as around the edges. Full of medium and large-sized particles throughout. Flavor is heavily sweet and slightly bitter. Tastes of malt, lots of oak, light alcohol, chocolate, light Bourbon, slight tobacco, vanilla, and coconut. Medium body. Thinnish, the lightly dry texture. Soft to average carbonation. Malt, chocolate, oak, vanilla, slight tar, slight alcohol finish is heavily sweet and a touch bitter. Alcohol is present in the flavor, though not hot.

On tap at Always Ron’s. Dark pour. Aroma does not betray the bourbon taste to come. Taste really fires the taste buds, encompasses the whole mouth, aftertaste hints of the bourbon.

(750ml, bottle 233/1150) Pours a hazy golden body with a moderate off-white head. Aroma of wood, banana, bourbon, chocolate, and light oxidation. Flavor of caramel, herbs, bourbon, roasted malt, and chocolate.

750 mL bottle from Beer Run in Charlottesville, VA, opened 7/26/11. Bottle 704 of 1150. Pours a dark brown color with not much of a head. Aroma of big bourbon notes, vanilla, maple, chocolate anda faint nuttiness. The taste is bourbon, cocoa, vanilla, maple, faint wood notes and faint hops in the finish. Medium-full bodied. Quite tasty. Nice beer.

No head. What the heck?! Black black color. Weird stuff happening there. Smells like irish creme and bourbon. Smells actually pretty delicious. Taste is of bourbon and nothing else. Mmm bourbon. Bourbon bourbon bourbon. Maybe some water too!

Poured a very very dark brown almost black. No head. Aroma has lots of dark fruit with whiskey and chocolate and vanilla. Taste is watery with lots of bourbon. Some corn and sweet malt flavors too. Not too much complexity, but interesting.