Pours mahogany into a snifter. Mocha head with little retention recedes to mottle surface. Hot pit fruit and chocolate aromas. Hot cherry and caramel upfront turning to hot chocolate in the lasting finish.

12oz bottle from the anniversary box set pack. It pours up with a nice murky dark brown to mahogany colored body that supports a nice lasting mocha colored head. Oh my, I couldn’t resist and took a swig before assessing the aroma. Sweet baby jesus this is dandy! The modest aroma (might be a tad cold still) offers up chocolate, molasses, caramel and other residual nectar like sugar aromatics followed by stewed plums and dates. The taste is right there. Wow. Nectar sweet malts nuanced perfectly by molasses and caramel and sugar stewed prunes and dates. Right along with all of that murmurs a pleasing deep chocolate note and more nectar sweet residual sugar succulence. Sometimes the prune and date notes shine through and then at other moments I get molasses and chocolate yum. Off in the background are muted blunted frustrated resiny pine like hops that just can’t gain any ground here. This beer is ____, that’s how good it is. Oh hell yeah! I’ll do unspeakable things to get more of this.

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 9/26/2014. Pours fairly pitch black color with a 2 finger dense tan head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big caramel, molasses, toffee, toast, dark bread, chocolate, light coffee/nuttiness, raisin, plum, plum, cherry, fig, date, red wine, herbal, light pepper/pine, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge caramel, molasses, toffee, toast, dark bread, chocolate, light coffee/nuttiness, raisin, plum, cherry, fig, date, red wine, herbal, light pepper/pine, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, molasses, toffee, toast, chocolate, light coffee, raisin, plum, fig, date, red wine, light pepper/pine, and herbal/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light carbonation and very full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy, and fairly slick mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is well hidden with only a small warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic black barleywine style. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the huge ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.

22oz bottle picked up at Total wine in Spokane
Pours black with a medium sized tan head, good lacing. Aroma is malty, dark fruit, chocolate and caramel. Flavor of malty, sweet caramel, chocolate, leather, vanilla and port
Very nice, I really enjoy these Anniversary beers.