Bottle from Dec. 2011. Aroma is fairly fruity with cherries, figs, and golden raisins. Moderate caramel note with a light amount of toasted bread. Hint of alcohol spice. Light treacle note. Pours a murky copper brown with some ruby notes and a thin tan head that quickly recedes leaving no lacing. Medium legs. Flavor is slightly sweet upfront but there is a moderate to moderately strong bitterness later in the palate. Moderate notes of raisins, figs, plums and cherries. Moderately strong caramel malt nots with a hint of toasted bread and a light roast character. Medium alcohol spice in finish with some lingering fruit notes, bitterns as and a touch of earthy hops. Mouthfeel is medium full bodied with medium to medium low carbonation. Low astringency and medium low alcohol warmth. Overall a surprisingly nice barleywine with decent malt complexity and a nice fruitiness that compliments the caramel. Well balanced bitterness and alcohol notes.

Bottle sampled at a tasting. From notes. Caramel, rasins, brown sugar and a little cinnamon. Very good.

Refrigerated 12 oz. brown bottle poured into a sampler glass. Pours translucent red with white-head. Good lacing, medium body, low carbonation. Taste is caramel malt and some alcohol. Pretty good for a style I don’t really care for.

12oz bottle pours a clear, caramel amber with some creamy, off white head. Nose is heavy pine tar, soap, some booze, tropical fruit. Flavor is strong pine, some grapefruit, candy, tropical fruit, malt, some bitter greens. Full bodied, sticky finish.

bottle at home ...dark red brown ... dark toffee malt ... light sweet toffee vanilla malt nose... sweet juicy fruit malts ... dark heavy barley wine tones ... quite hoppy ... quite sweet ... nice but heavy .. quite like its linger

Bottle shared by Sean, thanks! Poured a cloudy golden brown with a light brown head that dissipated slowly to the edges. Aroma had sweet bread with a slight light fruit and citrus note, as well as a hint of alcohol. Flavor had sweet grain and bread notes with a hint of toffee and light fruit with alcohol in the finish

Bottle. Pours a dark amber color with a small off-white head. Has a sweetish malty dark fruit aroma with hoppy hints. Sweetish malty dark fruit caramel flavor with some hoppy hints. Has a sweetish malty hoppy bitter finish.

Bottle from Matt (madvike). Translucent deep orange-brown body, thin off-white head. Aroma of big, juicy, citrusy and piny hops, alcohol, burnt caramel, and raisins. Slightly oxidized body with sherry, somewhat faded citrus rind and pine hops, and burnt caramel. Tangy, earthy finish. Rather plain; reminds me of a number of barleywines I tried the first couple years I was a member of this website, and one that I would have probably liked better then.

12 oz bottle courtesy of my winter 2009 Secret Santa. Served about 50 degrees in my Boulevard Tank 7 Saison tulip. Pour is slight hazed dark orange amber copper with a nicely formed two inch tan head. Head is very lasting, finally falls with a nice amount of lace. Streaks of fine carbonation bubbles head up the center of the glass. Pretty beer. Aroma of caramel malt, slight resin, and a orange fruit and orange peel sweetness. All is clean, but a bit on the mild side. Taste is caramel maltiness up front, with a touch of salty soy and then the mild orange peel sweetness of the nose. The finish gets a but muddled with some cardboard and alcohol heat showing through. Palate is medium body, oily and mouth coating, with average carbonation and a long residual alcohol heat and cardboard sweet malt aftertaste. Thanks for sending this my way Santa.