Not too long ago I participated in an #onbeerchat on twitter. If you haven’t before, give it a try. It’s every Tuesday at 8pm EST and lasts for an hour. We discuss various topics to do with Ontario beer and fun is had by all. We’re hosting tonight’s chat (November 25) on glassware.

One of the chats was based around one-off beers. Knowing this, I made sure to pick up something extra special for that night.

And thus, I sampled some Epiphany No 1 by Black Oak Brewing.

This beer is a limited edition one-off that is currently available in the LCBO. It’s a Belgian style ale that’s been ‘triple aged’ on cherry wood. It’s considered an ‘extra strong beer’ at 9.5% which is getting close to being a barley wine.

According to Black Oak this beer is part of an on-going series inspired by their 15 year anniversary.

Here are my tasting notes:

Appearance: Dark brown and opaque like soda. There is basically no head to speak of.

Aroma: Hoppy and fruity. There is a hint of strawberries and oranges. Almost smoothy like.

Taste: Cherry, caramel and coffee flavour. There’s a hoppy aftertaste with a bit of the malt coming through. The mouthfeel is wonderful, it’s thick but beautifully carbonated. Very complex mix of flavours that I can’t help but love.

Overall: I have to say this is one of the best beers I have had in a while. The mouthfeel is incredible, the mix of flavours is unique in the best way possible and I am sad that it is a limited edition. I hope this one somehow makes it into their regular rotation. If not I have to stock up on a few for my cellar… err… bookshelf.  Sorry for the photobomb of our pet in the first photo.

Kole McRae

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