Brontes

Brontes by Czig Meister Brewing Co. is being evaluated as style 33B, Specialty Wood-Aged Beer, per the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines.

In the glass, this is a very dark brown, approaching inky black, with a thin tan head that falls quickly. Opaque. The nose immediately hits you with booze and bourbon up front. Under the booze and barrel, there are tons of dark fruit notes, figs and dates, prunes, coconut, and chocolate syrup. Really quite fruity and sweet aromatically, with caramel and roast in support. It definitely has barrel-aged Imperial Stout vibes. Coconut and chocolate increase as it warms as well. Interesting layers here, presenting as pretty sweet on the nose.

On the taste, it is not as sweet or fruity as expected. It carries a ton of roast and coconut, as well as coffee, across the palate. Moderately bitter, though that mostly seems roast-derived. I think the barrel is adding some spicy alcohol and hints of butterscotch along with the coconut. I am a fan of the roast content here, but the butter notes are fairly distracting. It finishes pretty well, a bit hot and on the drier side. The body is a touch thin as well, oddly.

I am kind of surprised by the lower level of complexity, as it is mostly bourbon and roast, without much additional development. It definitely checks the boxes for the styles, but a bit more malt complexity, and maybe even some hop complexity, would go a long way with this one.