Green FLash Brewing Company - Sleepin' With Shaggy

 I don't know how your bracket is looking, but (as I write this) we're barely halfway through the second day of the NCAA tournament and my bracket has already taken a hit of young Mike Tyson-like proportions. Harvard beating New Mexico? Ole Miss taking out Wisconsin? Marquette, Gonzaga AND Duke getting stiff first round tests? Did NOT see any of those coming. I guess that's why they call it "madness." You know what else is madness? Sticking a barleywine in a brandy barrel for 4 years like Green Flash did with their beer "Sleepin' With Shaggy."

Sleepin' With Shaggy (named so because Green Flash's CEO apparently enjoys "pairing" this beer with a shaggy stuffed dog he got from a fair. How you go about pairing a beer with a stuffed animal is unknown to me.) pours a deep cola color with a nice two-finger tan head. The smell is redolent of brandy soaked dark fruits. I picked up plum skins, prunes, dates and a really nice aroma of powdery brown sugar. There's just a hint of oak lurking in there are well.

The taste opens on a big, boozy brandy note. The brandy is a little harsh, and would probably settle nicely with a bit of age. Luckily, the flavor doesn't linger on the brandy too long and moved on to notes of plum, raisin and just a hint of tobacco. There's a sweet buttery toffee note before a drying, almost tannic-like finish. Enjoy this now or let it sit for a while. I can definitely seeing this beer getting a lot better with a little time under it. So cheers, my friends. And enjoy the madness.

Final Grade: A-

Top 250 Beers Tasted: 116