Somewhat surprising.

Single from Total Wine, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Pour yields a very dark brown body with some bubbly head that fades fairly quickly. Nothing much to report here.

Nose gives a slight sherry note, with a sweet Old Ale aroma. It promises much.

Upfront tastes are malt driven as expected and there are some fruits, a touch of alcohol (although not as much as the ABV would suggest) and some simple, DB like features (more sweetness).

The beer is a little odd in as much as the mouthfeel is rather light, lacking depth, and in that I get a distinct licorice like finish exploding across the back end. I’d even go as far as to say it gets a bit stout like, with a dry, strangely astringent bitterness that seems out of place.

The drinkability suffers for me as a result. Strong aftertaste.

Strange stuff; seemed well balanced upfront and then went a bit weird at the end.