While I appreciated the firm malty candy character of the beer, it seemingly overloads it and nothing else but that particular character of it seems to exist. It features a lovely deep red tawny appearance, with a low head suggesting its alcoholic punch. Some hints of barrel aging are perceivable, but they seem to meld into, as opposed to being separate from, its molasses/raisin sweetness. Based upon the muted Belgian overtones in the beer, it tasted more like an Old Ale to me. For its alcoholic strength, it does hide it well, but the sample leaves me with a one-dimensional candy sweetness without enough complementary flavors to make it more palatable.