Life and Limb (2)

Thanks to Justen Parris for bringing a bottle of this over yesterday. I had sold him the last of my homebrew equipment, and in exchange he also gave me this bottle. Jen and I tasted it that night after a fried rice dish I concocted on the whim.
Snifter served.
10% ABV

Appearance: Dark brown with a thick textured pour. In the glass, the beer looked like dark maple syrup, a bit of a red hue. Head was dense and beige, and relatively quick to dissipate. A layer of foam resided after several minutes. Lacing is wet and speckled
Aroma: Just that, maple syrup, dark cane sugar and fruit. Perhaps figs, dates and plums. Rich aromatics, but nothing really jumps out or overpowers. Everything seems to meld well with each other. Toasted and even roasted malt at the end.
Taste: Immediately sweet, and according to the label, the beer IS MADE WITH SYRUP! Which definitely contributes a unique flavor. Huge malt base, and some alcohol round out the finish, which is paralleled by a subtle woodiness. I get a lot of toasted malt and even some toffee. This makes it relatively dry, but still ironically refreshing. Throughout, and examined in a specific perspective, this beer boasts a lot of the dark roasted fruit flavors that were present in the aroma. While the aftertaste maintains a wood flavor, the finish of the beer leaves almost a roasted/chocolate flavor of coffee, but with a sweetness to back it up.
Mouthfeel: The carbonation is slight, but enough to bubble up and fizz on the tongue to create a nicely refreshing zip at the end. The body is thick and velvety.
Overall Impression: A lot darker than expected, but the flavor was just what I could have imagined. The maple and Birch syrups add a fantastic flavor profile and unique woodiness. Plums and figs are complexly incorporated alongside the slight (and I mean well masked) burn from the alcohol and the mild fizz from the carbonation. Wood and chocolate/roastiness round out the end.