Rating: 6/5

Tawny Port Wine Barrel Aged Sucré (6th Anniversary Ale) by The Bruery is a 15.1% ABV Old Ale aged in Tawny Port Wine Barrels.

Label:
100% Ale aged in Port Barrels
This sturdy beer marks our sixth year, and we are grateful for the outpouring of community. Together may our supporters, our brewery and this beer grow in complexity and refinement over the years.

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION (ratebeer.com)
Sucré is our sixth anniversary ale, loosely brewed in the English-style Old Ale tradition using our house Belgian yeast strain and then blended using the solera method.

A portion of each of our anniversary ales is saved in our barrels and blended in with the next year’s production, providing more complexity and depth of character that comes with aged. Layered with complex flavors of dark fruit, vanilla, oak, and burnt sugar, Sucré is a robust ale, surely the perfect beer to mark this major milestone.
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So along with the original Sucré review, which you can find here: (https://brewerianimelogs.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/sucre-6th-anniversary-ale-by-the-bruery/)
I wanted to do a review on one of the variants. While I have tired the Rum, American Oak and Madeira version at the Bruery, I got this one simply because I enjoy the way port wine is presented in many beers I like. Mainly Trois Pistoles. Anyway, this is the only variant I will try and I will mainly focus on the what the Tawny Port wine aspect brings forward. So while the aromas and flavors remain the same, I will show additional comments on each.

Aromas: (For Sucré)
Exquisite dulce de leche on bananas, flan, rich dark cherries, pecan pie, dark fruits like raisins, plums, figs, dates, wine grapes, apples, sweetened condenced milk, pilloncillo, crème brulee, toffee, roasted coconut, bourbon, oak, dark and milk chocolate, burnt sugar, candy sugar, brown sugar, marshmallow, graham crackers, rum notes, raspberry chambord, molasses, mousse, scotch whiskey, maple syrup, waffle cone and chocolate truffle ice cream.

Aromas: (With Tawny Port Barrel Aging)
A stronger oak and port wine aromas are more forward in this one than the caramel. Although it is there. Rich chocolate covered raisins, rich caramel, wine grapes, dessert wine, more flan rich but still including some of the very complex aromas as before with the addition of new aromas or improvements on the original aromas.

Flavors: (For Sucré)
Lots of rich Dulce de leche caramel, bananas, clove spice, dark cherries, rum notes, bourbon, vanilla, brown sugar, plantains, pilloncillo sugar cone, apples, peaches, apricot, pecan pie, whipped cream, marshmallow, toasted coconut, oak, milk chocolate, raspberry chambord, wine grapes, waffle cone, chocolate mousse, molasses, scotch whiskey, maple syrup, graham crackers, toffee, candy sugar, chocolate truffle ice cream, raisin bread pudding, rye, burnt sugar, butterscotch and fruit cake.

Flavors: (With Tawny Port Barrel Aging)
Flavors are closer to the port wine and oak with higher concentration of dark fruits, chocolate, caramel, flan, pecan pie, wine grapes, truffle ice cream, raisin bread pudding, coconut, vanilla, more chambord raspberry liqueur and marshmallow cream.

Aftertaste:(For Sucré)
Caramel, dark fruit raisins, cherries, lingering scotch bourbon, vanilla, marshmallows,
A bit of alcohol in the taste but nothing detracting, sipping drinkability with a bit of a medium silky mouth feel.

Aftertaste: (With Tawny Port Barrel Aging)
More and dark fruits in the finish with a dryer finish. No alcohol in the taste as well, smoother than the original yet sipping quality and very silky, almost to the point of syrupy and creamy.

Overall: (With Tawny Port Barrel Aging)
Definitely different and extremely delicious in its own way. Just like Sucre, if you want to try out the variant, definitely try this one or one of the other ones. Each will have additional flavors that are not covered in the original bourbon one or this one.

Anime Corner: (For Sucré)
Mari Illustrious Mikinami from Neon Genesis Evangelion was chosen for this release like Asuka and Rei were chosen for the previous 2. I wanted to show case not just the next release as following them but also how she relates to the beer. Mari has the colors or pink and gray which represent the Sugar and Iron. This is by pink relating to the delicious cherry which is pretty much sweet like sugar. The caramel aspect is the velvety brown locks of hair. Her glasses represent the maturity of the beer which has evolved from 15% from last years to a now 16.7% ABV. She is very very suductive, like this beer is so sweet that you may want to keep on drinking it, but don’t finish her off or you not only will regret it, she will knock you out, literally. Her strength and complexity can be shown in her skills as a pilot of the Evangelion mechs in the show. You would probably have to see the show for it to make sense, but just like you can’t see how good this beer just by looking at it, you will have to experience the beer for yourself and decide!

Anime Corner: (With Tawny Port Barrel Aging)
Yes, so this time, Mari goes into what is called Berserk mode. The fact that it shows her underwater in what seems to be blood, but for our sake the Tawny Port Barrel, this unleashes her berserk side where she becomes even more powerful than before and in some cases, very insane. I included her Eva in berserk mode as well. Definitely unleashing some crazy stuff. That’s what happens when you experiment. Is it for the better?! In this case, yes