Closer to a heavy porter and just a tad coarse (though never astringently so), this 12% alcohol-strengthened brown ale disguises its heady ambitions well. Brewed inside Palo Santo wood, the dry-bodied cola-hued ‘malt beverage’ invites thickened brown-sugared black chocolate malting, maple-sapped molasses-cocoa influence, and oaken vanilla tinge to port-brandy wining. Charcoal-stained bitter end picks up black cherry sweetness and minor grape-date-fig souring.