bottle - Pours dark brown with a small head and smells of caramel and bready malts and dark fruit. It tastes very sweet. A little dark fruit is noticeable. It’s full bodied and good though a bit too sweet for my tastes. The alcohol is mostly buried by the heavy malt sweetness, but perhaps the name "blithering idiot" is a warning of what happens to you if you fail to respect the 11% abv.

Born on date of 03/15/20 and a best by date of 03/20/20.
This was poured into a tulip.
The appearance was a nice looking black color with a thin rim of a white foamy head that quickly dissipated. There wasn’t any lacing.
The smell started off with light raisins, sweet apples, a little bit of roastiness, and sweet cocoa. There’s a light breadiness rolling into blend nicely.
The taste mainly copies the aroma and adds a bit more of the breadiness and raisin in the aftertaste. There’s a slight sticky little finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a nice sessionable feel to it. Carbonation rides super low allowing the stickiness to dampen my tongue nicely.
Overall, this is a good English barleywine. There really isn’t that normal \"tobacco\" back up in the aroma, still, I liked it for me. I’d have it again.

355 ml. bottle. Purchased @ Willems & Zoon. Bottled on 04/21/2015. Very dark brownish amber, tanned solid creamy head. Nose is very thick syrup herbal cough syrup, touch herbal Sirop de Liège, burned sugar, herbal caramel, very thick, syrupy cough syrup fare. Taste is very thick herbal, thick wild spices, faint five spices, big cough syrup, touch molasses, big herbal, herbal SIrop de Liège, cooked apples, touch raisin & brown banana, lingering herbal finish, wild spices, light herbal liquer, touch warming. Lower carb & cough syrp profile. Far too herbal & cough syrup like for me but still somewhat enjoyable in its own fashion. Interesting profile, rather surprised that something like this is so mainstream (relatively speaking).

Bottle at home. Pours copper amber, nose is honey, toffee, caramel, sugary, taste is similar.

Tap at Beer Authority, New York. Colour is clear dark orange with small white head. Aromas and flavours: Dark fruits, raisins, some hops and malts. Very easy and twisted barley wine.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy copper with small off white head that diminishess to nothing. The aroma is dark fruit, figs, and caramel. Thin mouth with caramel, candy sugar, dark fruit, very good.