Adroit Theory Tenebris
While I’ve only had a few of their beers, I’ve been a big fan of Adroit Theory’s label artwork and naming convention. Tenebris, most likely a play on “tenebrous,” references Medieval folklore surrounding the crow and the despair, gloom that its shadow casts. I’m not sure how that really relates to a highly-hopped barleywine, but we’ll go with it.
As you can see by the photo below, this is not a beer that invokes despair. Its 10.7% ABV might elicit other feelings and reactions, but certainly not doom. Tenebris, much like the brewery’s Lux that I reviewed early this month, was also created with a higher-than-normal hop ratio in preparation for barrel aging. Here, however, the increased hop character works with the style more so than with the wheatwine.
Appearance
Tenebris pours a rusty copper in color with a small head of beige foam that falls slowly to a thin ring around the surface.
Aroma
Toffee, caramel, lightly toasted bread, herbal hop notes and an “old” scent fill the nose evenly.
Taste
For a barleywine the beer has a lively and light mouthfeel/body combination that gives it more of a refreshing trait than many in this style. Toffee, caramel, biscuits, light fruit, pine and herbal hop notes flow briskly over the tongue. Like the company’s B/A/Y/S, this beer also has an aged quality to it — possibly a result of the malt base and the relatively dry finish after each swallow. There’s a long lasting hop tingle that fades slowly.
Overall
The brewery has already mentioned that they do not brew to style, and I’m cool with that, so I wasn’t expecting a true-to-form barleywine with Tenebris. Luckily the higher than normal hop profile of the beer works here and makes for an interesting drinking experience, as well as the best that I’ve had from the company thus far. Now, to just find that barrel-aged variety.
Rating: 3.75/5
