it reminds me of the babe

I've been holding on to this bottle for quite some time.  My brother-in-law, of 3 Sheeps fame, cooked this beer up in honor of his son's birth more than a year ago, and I was gifted with a bottle the last time I was in the US.  I guess I've just been waiting for the time to seem right.  Now's as good a time as any.  We referred to it as "the baby beer", but not because of a light alcohol content by any means.  It turned out a bit stronger than he was anticipating, but he was going for a Belgian quadruple style, so double digits were likely from the start.  It was a little on the Belgian side for my taste, as I recall, my feelings on Belgian beer being no secret around here, but tasty.  I can't imagine my bottle not living up to that, at least.

Although not very foamy, the light head is beige/tan on a pretty dark brown.  It reminds me of my old friend Cabrona.  It smells almost winey, with a little sweet and fruitiness but weighed down with a definite feel of alcohol.  It's smoky and honey-glazed at the same time, giving me a small hint of chocolate as well.  It's possible the aging has deepened some of the flavors, since I don't remember it being so rounded and dark a couple of years ago.  I recall something closer to a Belgian dark with a little bit of sour under the sweet and a taste that, while strong, was also fairly light.  This is a much darker and heavier taste, with a lot of earth to support it.  The bourbon-beer sweet tends to stick around, but it's not too distracting.  It gets more bitter with time, or warmth rather, much like wine tends to do, but I still wouldn't rush a glass of this.