Kuhnhenn Fifth Dementia Very Old Ale

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

Shared at Stone Sourfest. Again Carlos rocked the house. Rich smooth caramel, vanilla, and sweet malt nose. The aroma is beyond rich. Dark brown in the class with an off-white ring. The taste is again remarkably sweet and rich. Candy and fruit. Hot with alcohol.

Bottle thanks to Carlos (I think) at the Stone Sourfest. Pours with a near black, brown body and a tan ring. Aroma of raisins, alcohol burn, chocolate, light smoke and butterscotch. Taste is brown sugar, raisins, and currant. Tastes awesome, super long duration. Great stuff.

Another sample poured for me at the Stone Sour Fest. Thank you. I really enjoyed smelling this one. Lots of great malt and fermented fruits. Very tasty, and very excited to try it.

Carlos rocks it out with another epic beer brought to sour fest, keeps me guessing and makes me stoked. Nose is sweet and rich and malty. Taste is sweet and amazingly rich. Woah.

12-oz. Thanks, BVC! Pours deep, dark brown. Huge brown sugar, oats and chocolate aroma. Sweet taste of figs, prunes, roast. Should have sampled this one earlier in the evening.

I didn’t think I was going to be able to write a review of this beer because during that particular day of beer tasting, my glass took a nose dive for the concrete floor, crashing and spilling her contents all over the ground. Sacrilege, I know. Many a tear was shed, blood spilled, and repentance paid. But, apparently it was the beer before the Kuhnhenn Brewing 5th Dementia Very Olde Ale now that I am reviewing my notes. Considering I will never taste this beer again, as limited as it was, I am extremely relieved and delighted to rave about the divinity reached while supping this fine old ale before Mother Nature took her share.

A clear brown with a heavy shadow of black, there is very little head to get in the way of her explosively huge nose. A ringlet is all that marks her territory as an army of rich caramelized sugars, soft and molten storm my senses. Maple, molasses, and raisins soaked in alcohol and spiked with spices. A faint undercurrent of chocolate is overtaken by moist prunes, figs, and dates while the dryness of wood is soaked in bourbon. Last but certainly not least, brown sugars and simple syrup bring her heavy nose back to square one, leading me to but one conclusion: I must drink her, and drink her now. Immediately all porous surfaces are coated in a luxurious coating of sweet maple while soft milk chocolate sits squarely on top of my tongue. Raisins drowning in spiced rum and oaked bourbon warm the back of my throat, lingering long into my next quaff. I feel almost guilty at the pure indulgence I am shamelessly losing myself in; almost. My breath warm with spiced rum and bourbon, a gentle dryness of wood helps cut through the thickness of the maple and molasses while prunes, dates, raisins, and figs give her a chewy, meaty mouthfeel. My cheeks aglow, there is soothing warmth in my chest which aches ever so slightly from our abrupt parting.

The perfect winter warmer, I can see how old ales were savored by the pints. Times were hard, the weather cold and unforgiving, and refreshment was best served heartily. If I didn’t know better, I would think Kuhnhenn Brewing had traveled back in time, lifted a barrel of very olde ale, and traveled back to now to bottle it and then share its bounties with you and me. Fantasies aside, the obvious skill and time Kuhnhenn put into their 5th Dementia Very Olde Ale speaks in rich, multi-layered volumes. Definitely a brewery I will have to look out for.

4/25/2009: Kuhnhenn Fifth Dementia is has a sweet, extremely malty, and sticky (yeah, it’s that big!) aroma. I love the honey sweetness of this beer matched with a deep, rich, and complex maltiness that is bursting with great malty flavors - toffee, caramel, perfectly caramelzied malts and sugar, dark aged fruits, tobacco, raisins, and some warming alcohol. All of this fantastic flavor is packed into a smooth, mellow, and sticky beer that is just AWESOME. This beer is like an extreme Scotch Ale! Wow, this was the best beer of day! Amazing. I need a bottle of this to really sit down and enjoy for like 3-5 hours during a cold, windy, Winter day!

Sample from bottle at Dark Lord Day 2009. Rating #34 for this beer.

bottle at DLD 2009 ... And the Star of the whole SHOW ... brown ... sweet rich toffeee ... dark malts and little treacle nose ... smooth roast toffee malts ... soft rich with a little coffee... but the balance is just perfect ... some plums and molasses...low carbonation... Ok id be tempted with a trade on this one, despite trying to stop trading.