Fourth Beer of Christmas

On the Fourth Beer of Christmas we went all the way to the right of the spectrum and sampled Bell's Brewery Third Coast Old Ale described as:

A barley wine with deep amber color. The brandy of ales, this beer has vintage character and will mature in the bottle at cellar temperature for years.

The brew poured a toasty brown color with a good foamy head, but the taste is overwhelmingly hot, or alcoholic. The flavors are extremely concentrated, almost molasses-like. Heavy malt character which tends towards the syrupy.

I tend to like strong ale and strong flavors, but this time we might want to leave it in the cellar for a few more years -- or permanently. Pass on this one.