Your Father Smelt of Elderberries

The only information that I was given about this beer was that it was a "medieval fruit beer" brewed with elderberries. The aroma started off with a malty sweetness with no hop presence in the nose. This beer was gorgeous, with a very nice, clear, reddish glow and was quite carbonated and effervescent in the glass. The first sip featured an intense alcohol blast followed by a nice malty sweetness, well-balanced bittering hops and slight roasted caramel notes. Despite elderberries being mentioned in this beer's name, I didn't pick up any aromas or flavors featuring the fruit. Although interesting, this beer suffers from solvent flavors (fusel alcohols) that often occur when beers of this caliber have way too much of an alcohol character. Although attractive and intriguing, this Experimental Beer was a bit too harsh, finishing with a slight burning sensation at the back of the throat.