Kuhnhenn Fifth Dementia Very Old Ale

Brewed by Kuhnhenn Brewing
Style: Old Ale
Warren, Michigan USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Rating # 5000, Bottle and served in my Bells Expedition snifter: Pours a very deep ruddy brown with a bit of ruby highlights, very little head nor lace but you can see the bubbles attempting to escape the murky depth of the brew. The aroma has notes of fruit cake, old school oxidization, some vanilla, mocha, walnut, creme brulee, pipe tobacco, slight sea salt, and moderate port like vinous character. Initially the alcohol was a bit much and even lead to some band-aid notes by those have faded in the time I have taken to enjoy this.

The taste is slightly fruity, slight woody and earthy, slightly boozy, nutty, grapey, with lots of lush malts but shockingly not overly cloy. Yeah that port like character combined with the aged old school notes add up to wonderful complexity. The mouth feel is very soft with almost no carbonation, oily and lush but not all that sticky. While you notice the alcohol warming I must say that this is dangerously drinkable.

This is a great tribute to the classic Olden Ales of Britain taken to the volume of 11. I will admit that with just a bit more carbonation to could be an all-time classic but I am nit picking at this point. Yeah, after a great Stout my next choice of beer would be a great English Old Ale/Barley Wine/Strong Ale... so perhaps I am a tad biased here. Congrats to me!

Bottles shared by Sean, thanks! Pours near black with a thin grayish brown head that begins and remains at the edges. Aroma has notes of sugar, dark grains, caramel, and a bit of roasted malts. Flavor starts with caramel and a hint of green apple but finishes with toffee, dark grains and a hint of roasted malts.

Big thanks to markwise for providing the beer of the night. Wow! This pours mahogany with tan head. The aroma is a boozy bash to the head followed by caramel candy, blueberries, dates, figs, more caramel and more booze. Boozy aroma but it does have a big brash ABV. The taste is insanely good with rich dates, blueberries, brown sugar coated black currants and ripe deep red cherries. These notes seem to intermingle with just as rich caramel candy yumminess and toasted toffee notes. Cripes! I was not expecting this beer to be this damn good. I think I may have cried a little.

Draft. Pours a deep hazy murky brown body. Aroma and flavor are dark, dried fruits, sweet candy malts, some wood, cherry, and slight boozy notes.

12 oz bottle. Dark brown with a thin ring of bubbles. Nose is fudge brownie, raisin and prune; chocolate fruitcake? Medium to full body with soft carb. Taste is chocolate, wild grape, blackberry, oak and marmalade. Signature Kuhnhenn but not so distinctive. Hot and tasty.

12oz bottle provided by Sean, huge thanks...Pours a murky brown, on the uglier side. No carbonation...The aroma is really fantastic, cherries, brown sugar, raisins, vanilla and a hint of a sweet liquor on the finish...The taste is equally as nice, really smooth, cherries throughout, and lots of plums. Only problem for me is a slightly chalky finish which is kind of distracting. Brown sugar backbone, really nice...The mouthfeel is great. For a 15% beer, not hot at all, velvety smooth...So easy to drink. This is a rare treat well worth trying. Very similar to the 4th, would love to know the difference, would love to try them together to see what the difference is. Almost tastes barrel aged, but its not so I like that.

Released at 2008 Winter Solstice. 12oz bottle shared with Jason and Olga while watching the NFC Championship. Poured into Darkness snifter. A - Pours a muddled dark brown, no head, and not much to look at. Then again, who cares how it looks, right? S - Very sweet, rich, and decidant. Caramel, burnt sugars, slight dark fruit, maple syrup, and no real alcohol/booze note. Amazing that a beer that’s 15% can smell this smooth. T - Just as amazing as the nose. A wonderful sweetness that’s balanced by some ultra-smooth alcohol. Burnt sugars, syrup, caramel. Sweet port-like finish, slightly fruity. I seriously can’t believe this is 15%. The two years plus of aging has made this bottle phenomenal. M - Full bodied, little to no carbonation but perfect for this beer, rich and smooth. D - Sign me up, I want more! This stuff is simply outstanding and the aging has worked wonders for this beer. A sipper for sure, much like a fine port. Highly recommend. I bumped the appearance because I think the taste is 4.75 or so.

Murky brown, no head, grows legs. Aroma has hints of acwtone, other than that huge malt bomb. Lots of caramel/toffee, dark fruits light sherry character. Flavor much the same, no acetone, but sherry character is bigger, and slight oxidation. Oily smooth mouthfeel.

In short: A sweet sipper with a lot of complexity. Surprising excellent monster.
How: Bottle 12oz. Consumed when a little over 1 year of age. Sent to me by dmschefke, thanks a lot Dave
The look: Dark ruby-brown body with almost no head
In long: Strong nose of ultra-sweet black liquorice and boozy dessert. Taste is surprisingly complex. Peat, burnt caramel, chocolate, roastiness, vanilla, tobacco, dark fruits, whiskey, brandy, burnt bananas… and I could go on and on. I’m not one who usually gives high ratings to high abv brew but this one is something special. Body is thick and syrupy and the carbonation is appropriately very low. The beer felt a bit boozy a bit but nowhere near 15% and more importantly with so much stuff going on the beer didn’t even feel that sweet. Dementia, a serious matter. Alcohol dementia is something to worry about for a heavy drinker like myself. I hope I’ll never suffer from alcohol dementia. I hope I’ll find it rather amusing.

Sample from bottle (notes). Pours a clear dark copper/brown with a small off white head that collapses to a ring. The aroma is a huge sweet malty collection of molasses, maple, caramel, brown sugar, dark fruits and a hint of alcohol. The flavor, much like the nose, is dominated by a huge malty sweetness. Caramel, toffee, vanilla, molasses, brown sugar, dark fruits (prunes), figs and maple syrup. The intense maltiness and sweetness work in this beer. This one is full bodied and smooth; definitely a sipper.