On tap at brewpub. It pours a striking crystal clear deep copper with lasting ring of white foam. The aroma is malty sweet with a hint of dark fruit and decent amount of smokiness. The taste begins with thick chewy malt sweetness with a quick twang of dark fruity esters. The mild prunes, cherries and plums mix with an up welling of sweet caramel candy maltiness. It gets a very brief shot of breadiness that rolls over and fades into the finish. The hops hit about midway and try to overcome the chewy sweet caramelized maltiness with a sweet late addition pine hop and spice hop sweetness. The hops become only moderately bitter into the finish. None of the flavors are too bold or two bright but rather melded and smooth. The mild smokiness does just manage to show itself into the finish. For a barleywine it comes up short on hops for an American version and isn’t fruity or malty or caramely enough for an English version. Its somewhere in between.

Hazy but vibrant amber. Herbal aroma reminiscent of Gammel Dansk or Jagermeister - orange, coriander, pine, mint, basil, centennials or columbus (Ha! if I list two hops I''m bound to be right!), sweet candyish malts...holy crap. Full, round body, slightly sticky, slight peppery alcohol. Full of sweet fruity things -sorbitol candies, orange, peach, vanilla, buckwheat honey. Long, sweet finish showing a trace of alcohol and some beautifully extracted malts (Maris Otter still rocks my world after all these years). One of the best.