American style barleywine by Jopen, tasted from tap at ’Cause Beer Loves Food in Amsterdam. Lightly lacing, moussy, off-white, well-retaining head, very dark bronze colour with warm burgundy glow, lightly hazy. Enticing, strong and refined bouquet of candied figs, beef stock, black cherries, walnut oil, candied orange, sherry, blue grapes, toffee, stewed plums, horse meat, honey liqueur. Fig, candied banana and ripe cherry sweetness in the onset, bit praline-ish with a sourish touch, quite spritzy carbo initially but smooth, thick and vinous mouthfeel. Light meaty umami accents join the candied sweetness over a full, caramelly and mildly nutty malt body, leading to a warming, gently boozy finish with lots of sherry- and brandy-like, yet non-astringent alcohol penetrated by a peppery hop bitterish sting and surfing on top of gently flowing waves of sweet malts with a softly bitterish toasted edge. Exquisite sipping beer and likely the best Jopen I ever had - clearly this brewery, originally a mere beer company brewing at Van Steenberge in Belgium if I recall correctly, has managed to keep pace with the rapidly evolving international craft beer movement. Notably darker and less hop bitter than what I expect from an ’American’ barleywine, but at this level of quality, I will not bother with style issues too much.

33cl bottle. Dark ruby-brown pour with a tall beige head that gives way to a very thin lacing. A ton of hops in the aroma, especially IPA hops like Simcoe. Notes of raisins and other dried fruit, toasted caramel, toffee, grapefruit, orange peel, pine resin. Full body, low carbonation, smooth, velvety texture. Just a touch of alcohol burn in the aftertaste. A great American barleywine.