On tap at Qbrick’s Strong Beer Event, served in a snifter a dark reddish brown almost black with minimum head. The aroma is redolent of sweet dark fruits, red grapes, plums & figs-delicious! The body is viscous & thick a substantial beer. The taste is sweet, fruity, caramel, candy, with a very light zesty carbonation. A fun Barleywine, with some burn as it goes down your throat & warms your belly but no real overt booziness. Quite good. The one negative in the nose after warming up it can give strong nail polish chemical notes in the aroma.

Bottle @ Armin’s place, courtesy of arminjewell. Thanks! Pours a deep reddish brown appearance with a thin brown head. Light vinegar, a touch medicinal cherry, chocolate, roasty malty, caramel, plum aroma. Pretty fucken strong flavor. Chocolate, cola, plum, red grape, a bit oxidized, cookie dough, caramel, pretty sweet flavor. Big beer but not too bad.

Small coarseish offwhite head. Clear deep brown, almost black, body. Earthy fruity aroma with alcoholic roasty caramel notes. A bit musty. Later more caramel, soy sauce and toffee aromas come forward, with less mustiness and alcohol. Sweet-dryish roasty cocos taste with caramel, alcohol, and soy sauce notes. Full body. Hot mouthfeel, but smooth and almost flat. Dry-sweet cocos and caramel aftertaste with roasty chocolate and alcohol notes. Lingering licorice, toffee, and molasses notes. Lovely! Sharp, but harmonic and well integrated. (0.33l bottle bought at brewery. 2010 vintage.)

Draught in Popeye, about 18 months old, drank alongside a 2001 Super Vintage. Almost black, some red, no head. Nose: raisins, some dark chocolate, caramel, fudge, faint but complex. Sweet, spicy, hot flavor, a bit of licorice, huge dried fruit, nice tangy aspect. Sweet, hot, and lovely. Smooth as hell. Much, much improved since it was new. Delicious.

Molasses, not that well blaanced. Dark chocolate, salty full bodied. Not rounded. Needs time.