Broadway Pub Elixir de Belphegor

[1405-20080530] Tap. Sugary vanilla aroma is very sweet and strong and has noticeable wood notes. Hazy, dark brown body with a small quick light tan head. Sweet vanilla pineapple flavour has lots of woodiness and something like coconut. Medium-full body. Lots of woodiness distracts from the sweetness, but still very boozy.
(5T @ Mondial; Montreal, QC)

Sample, savoured at the Mondial de la bière on May 29 2008; eye: dirty brown, tiny ring of beige head, suspended matter/not filtered, no lacing; nose: oak, liqueur-like, caramelized malt, alcohol, candied fruits; mouth: oak, caramelized malt, alcohol, caramel, finale in oak with alcohol warmth, full body, not much carbonation, mildly sweet; overall: quite good FRANÇAIS Échantillon, savourée au Mondial de la bière le 29 mai 2008; oeil : brune sale, petit anneau de mousse beige, matière en suspension/non filtrée, pas de dentelle; nez : chêne, liqueur, malt caramélisé, alcool, fruits candis; bouche : chêne, malt caramélisé, alcool, caramel, finale en chêne et en chaleur d’alcool, corsée, peu carbonatée, moyennement sucrée; en résumé : pas mal bon

In short: A brutal unbalanced syrupy and woody barley wine.
How: From the tap. Sample at Mondial de la Bière 2008
The look: Cloudy brown body topped by a small beige head
In long: Nose is fudge, barrel and alcohol fumes. Taste is more of the same. Too much alcohol. Caramel, maple, brown sugar and a shot of single-malt whisky. Very woody. Light fruity notes of usual dark fruits but basically the alcohol and whisky barrels overpower everything. Syrupy. Lack of hops presence, totally unbalanced. An overall sensation of a raw unrefined whisky. Quite drinkable despite some problems, maybe it was too young, time may help to calm down the barrels flavours and develop more fruity flavours but I don’t think it will help it’s balance problem. This thing had all the delicacy and softness of a lawnmower shave.

Objectively speaking: A barley wine who took a lot of its character from its long sojourn in a whisky barrel.
I like: Not particularly aggressive whisky character, but the barrel itself is very important in he flavour profile. Solid fruity malt profile, but unrefined , rather raw sugariness. I have this feeling I would not like the beer they threw in the barrel so much, I would not like the whisky that lived in the barrel once, yet I still enjoy the beer mature in the barrel, so in this case, it’s a successful brew.
I dislike: Solid mouthfeel, medium-thick and smoothly carbonated. Quite vanilla/butter oriented. Lots of hints, but not very focused, little cerealic/toasty/nutty complexity despite the heaviness. Lots of alcohol warmth. I’d need to full glass to medidtate further.