Bottle. Pour is a deep coppery amber with lots of translucence and a little bit of a head that seems to leave the promise of a slightly oily texture. Aromas are sweet caramel, pine hops and a touch of grapefruit and pineapple. Maybe a hint of white grape juice as well. Aromas are a little more subtle than I expected, but fairly complex and so far this has captured my interest. Mouthfeel is definitely a little on the oily/syrupy side of things and flavor is well described as a hybrid of barley wine and strong IPA. On the barley wine side of the spectrum, the thick mouthfeel, sweet caramel malt that boarders on cloying, but is held well in check with the presence of lots of hops. On the IPA side of the coin, there is a piney finish that is brought on by strong hopping and finishes out the beer exceptionally well. The alcohol is there and there’s not a lot of effort to hide it, but it comes off more as a warmth on the way down that matches some of the better barley wines rather than an in your face astringent character like some of the more souped up IPA’s bring to the table. My only dissappointment with this one is my timing. I think that I would have enjoyed this even more as the snow was flying this past January, rather than at the brink of summer here, but it is still a wonderfully balanced brew that is one of my favorites.