Pizza Port Brandy Barrel Way Heavy

Brewed by Pizza Port (San Clemente)
Style: Scotch Ale
San Clemente, California USA

On tap at the PP Real Ale Fest. Dark caramel brown color, with pale chocolate hues and a finger of creamy beige head. Vanilla bomb. Huge, oaky vanilla nose that compliments the rich malt melanoidin characters of the base beer. Layer upon layer of caramel and fruity malt characters intertwine with the vanilla and faint brandy booziness. Full bodied, softly carbonated mouthfeel with a rich, silky texture. Lots of chewy caramelized malt sugars create a pleasantly sweet flavor. Faint chocolate flavors add further complexity, along with a hint of raisin, which the fruitiness of the brandy compliments nicely. As with the aroma, the vanilla barrel characters stand out most prominently, which I find to be pleasing when paired with the clean, caramelized malt flavors of the beer.

Huge fluffy head. Strong buttery barrel aged aroma. Sweet. Very sweet. Delicious. Lots of melanoidens. Very good.

On draft at the 2008 San Diego Strong Ale Fest, it was a bit over carbonated and too sweet for me. I prefer the regular way heavy

1st rating, on tap at Strong Ale 2008. Pours orangey/red with a tan head. Nose is sweet and with very strong brandy notes. the taste is sweet and malty and overall pretty decent, albeit a bit too sweet.