There's a tartness/sourness that I don't remember encountering before. What's going on? Still chocolaty. The whiskey is more prominent, if anything, but it's marred by the odd (dare I say off?) flavor.

Not that there's hype around this beer, but for as hard as it is to get, it's not exceptional. Plenty of chocolate to be had. There's a large overlap between stouts and porters but I don't have a problem making a distinction with this beer. It's a porter. Lots of carbonation a colder temps. Rye barrel character emerges at room temp. Still very reasonably priced at $8 compared to many other offerings from other breweries. I'd like to see CW do a peanut butter porter. I'll probably pass in the future but it's a nice after dinner beer that isn't too heavy.

I definitely like it better out of the IPA glass.

I remember really liking this before but NvU has, ironically, ruined me for anything else. This is more bitter, which is nice for a change. Lemon peel all the way.

Overall I didn't care for this one. Smells like a foot. Not a sweaty, nasty foot, but still. Champagne like carbonation. Pleasantly sour, little flavor. Admittedly, I have no clue what they were going for but it didn't do anything for me.

Like bourbon soaked cocoa powder. As good as I've ever had it.

It's nearly perfect. I wouldn't mind a little more viscosity but no complaints other than that. If it's truly 9.5% this is a marvel. And much better than the other 2016 batch. I can't remember which one I gave to Jen, I hope it was this one.

Wow. Chocolate much? So much richer than when fresh. Bourbon has mellowed a bit but more chocolate roast. Very, very nice.

Shared 3 ways, we each had a small pour. Drank with berries and cookies. I noticed more coffee flavors than I ever have with this brew. Holds up well against competing sour and sweet flavors. Best on its own, though.

Very sour. I would call it a dark sour. It was very good. Refreshing. I didn't get the roasty malty notes. It was 2 weeks from 2 years old, maybe the sour had developed enough to dominate. I won't buy it again. Not because I didn't like it, because it's too expensive. The first beer from The Bruery that I have liked.

I definitely like it better out of the IPA glass.

I remember really liking this before but NvU has, ironically, ruined me for anything else. This is more bitter, which is nice for a change. Lemon peel all the way.

A little more bitter than I remembered. Smoothed a bit as it warmed but still more coffee and dark chocolate than I prefer. Bourbon is barely there right now to my palate.

This is the best KBS has ever tasted to me. So balanced and chocolaty, but not rich. Deceptively smooth at nearly 12% ABV. Thinner than many consider ideal for big stouts but screw that, this is basically perfect. A little bitter but coffee doesn't overwhelm. Bourbon is surprisingly low key which really lets the other flavors shine.

Harsher than the 2016 but has more flavor. Hope it will settle a bit in the bottle. Exquisitely balanced as always.

I definitely like it better out of the IPA glass.

I remember really liking this before but NvU has, ironically, ruined me for anything else. This is more bitter, which is nice for a change. Lemon peel all the way.

Just not my kind of beer.

Hmm. I was told quads were different. This really did nothing for me at all. There was a nice cherry tartness and a little barrel richness, but I didn't care much for it other than that. Glad it wasn't expensive. I'm not inclined to try any other quads considering how universally this is acclaimed. Maybe it's not a quintessential quad but I'm not interested. I'm willing to try another if someone else buys it.

Really solid scotch all all around...until you get to the spruce tips. It's like a rosemary aftertaste. Why would they do that?

I definitely like it better out of the IPA glass.

I remember really liking this before but NvU has, ironically, ruined me for anything else. This is more bitter, which is nice for a change. Lemon peel all the way.

Still very good, although the brandy is mostly background booze at this point. A highly alcoholic tart cherry lager. Best a little younger when the brandy is more prominent but still delicious.

All my previous notes say the brandy comes out as it warms but that seems to be fading now. The brandy is still there but more background. Drinks like a crisp cherry lager. Plus alcohol.

Holding up really well for a lager after 6 months. Get it cold an ther cherry really comes out. Once it warms the brandy tends to dominate. But I don't regret this purchase at all. It's a really nice change of pace. Delicious. Kind of ridiculous ABV, though.

Huge, huge brandy. Still nicely tart. I didn't buy it until it was already 3 months old but doesn't seem to be hurting from the age, even though it's a lager. Of course I never had a really fresh bottle to compare... Still, it's fun.

Brandy works well with the tart cherries. Gets more boozy as it warms up.

Holds up well so far. I have heard that strawberry drops off quickly in beer, but not yet. Really good, wouldn't mind if they brought it back every year.

Turbid. Smells great, like strawberry jelly. Maybe influence a bit by the actual strawberry jelly in my sandwich? Rhubarb comes across much more in the flavor. Took me a bit to parse the flavors, at first I was just expecting massive strawberry, then it seemed like it just wasn't a fresh fruit flavor. The rhubarb covers up a lot of the maltiness so it ends up tasting more like spritzer than beer. And at 4% you can basically drink it that way. Interested to see how much it will settle, although it's bottle conditioned. I can't put this up with Serendipity but I like it as much as the Belgian Red.

I definitely like it better out of the IPA glass.

I remember really liking this before but NvU has, ironically, ruined me for anything else. This is more bitter, which is nice for a change. Lemon peel all the way.

Wow, finally, 6 months after bottling it's finally starting to taste right. That weird, hoppy? flavor has faded and it's sweet and boozy and carmely and buttery.

Something's wrong this year. Last year was as good as any barrel aged wee heavy on the market. This year has a bitter bite the destroys the carmely sweetness. Can't believe I bought so much this year instead of last year.