From a 330ml bottle on 1/6/2013. Pours a super murky brown with a small thin head. Has a powerful aroma of stewed fruit, plums, prunes, dates, raisins and more than a touch of booze. All of the aforementioned also feature in the flavour, along with a good dash of strawberry, some cherry, and a touch of honey. The palate is quite sticky and the carbonation low. There’s certainly a distinct vinous, alcoholic character to it, but it’s still quite easy to drink for a beer that’s 14.6%. A very interesting, rather impressive brew. Not really a typical barley wine - the closest reference point I can think of is Rochefort 10, but this is better.

Murky brown with less than a coat of beige head. Ugly as a hatful (as seems to be the house style). Aroma of honey, butterscotch, pine, oak, lemon, greengages. Syrupy with low carbonation. Sweet toffee, greengages, coffee, pine, pepper, a stemmy cherry note, pine, oak, a light tanginess. Flavours are all tied together. The sweetness pretty much vanishes at the end and the alcohol is fairly obvious but not hot (although it sticks out more as it warms). Quite something.Third and last bottle. Still ugly. Honeyed lemon, butterscotch, underripe plums. Very sweet, warming but integrated alcohol, sweetness lifted away at the end that’s more gently acidic than bitter or dry.