(bottle) (30th anniversary) clear, bright orange amber colour with a small white head; aroma of raisins, alcohol, dried fruit; balanced flavour with a long, medium bitter sweet finish, well hidden alcohol

500ml bottle at 11.8% ABV. pouring a clean darker amber colour with a warm-beige frothy head, very long stay for such a high alcohol content, leaving some creamy-foamy ring. Aromas are quite rich, as most of this style, with a caramel malt base, banana notes and other sweet dark fruits. Alcohol can be felt as well. Ah, the barrel-aged part shows up instantly in the taste, with vanilla notes and hints of wood. Thankfully, this barleywine is hopped up enough to balance the sweetness, richness. Not syrupy and the mouthfeel is fairly light. Not a bad strong brew.

Brown bottle, 500 ml, 11.8%, 2020 vintage, purchased from the LCBO - Richmond on February 28, 2020, enjoyed on March 25 2020; eye: maroon, cloudy, no effervescence, ring of beige head, slight lacing; nose: malt, caramel, brown sugar, bourbon, alcohol, oak; mouth: malt, caramel, brown sugar, bourbon, alcohol, oak, alcohol warmth, light fig, finale in bourbon with presence of alcohol warmth, full-bodied, lightly below average carbonation, mildly sweet, lightly raspy texture; overall: fine

FRANÇAIS
Bouteille brune, 500 ml, millésime 2020, achetée à la LCBO - Richmond le 28 février 2020, savourée le 25 mars 2020; œil : marron, trouble, pas d’effervescence, anneau de mousse beige, très légère dentelle; nez : malt, caramel, cassonade, bourbon, alcool, chêne; bouche : malt, caramel, cassonade, bourbon, alcool, chêne, chaleur d’alcool, léger figue, finale en bourbon avec présence de chaleur d’alcool, corsée, carbonatation légèrement sous la moyenne, moyennement sucrée, texture légèrement râpeuse; en résumé : bien

Tasting at Ash's; 11.9%, this is the gold labeled 30th anniversary version from
Opaque brown colour. Strong bourbon aroma, alcohol too. Good body strength, moderately sweet for a Barley Wine, but also a lot of alcohol to cut through the sweetness; the malt taste is ok, not as rich as the best Barley Wines, a bit nutty; more alcohol in the finish.
Good, a bit too boozy.

650ml bottle (thx, Kory V.!) at Ash's with Jamey and Alex. Part of 30th Anniversary Series. 11.9% Pours a murky brown a tan head. Aroma is fruity, bourbon, sweet notes. Taste is very complex with boozy notes, bourbon, chocolate, dark fruits. Very nice.

Bottle - Barrel and sweet caramel. Deep dark brown with a light beige head. Barrel and chocolate with a light caramel and a stringency . Boozy and smells great, tastes ok.

(On tap at A Night with GLB and Amsterdam Brewery @ Bar Hop, Sept 14 2014) Pours very dark brown with a tiny white head. Aroma driven by Four Roses barrels, with a dark stewed fruit and toffee malt core underneath. Slight nuttiness. The palate is sweet initially, port wine, light wood, toasted nuts. In the middle lots of booze hits along with the bourbon barrel, and the alcohol dries the beer out. Finish has lingering whiskey, sweetness from dark fruit and toffee. Full, syrupy palate. This barley wine has huge potential, but at least on draught it came across as being rather too young and hot. All the components are there and it will mellow into a beauty. Wish I had scored a bottle or two to sock away.

Bottle: Poured a deep cloudy brown color ale with a nice foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of caramelized sugars is well balanced against the vanilla from the bourbon. Taste is a complex mix of caramelized sugars, vanilla, oak and bourbon with quite a bit of residual sugar. Body is full with good carbonation and light warming alcohol. Very solid barleywine with nice barrel-again characteristics to hide some of the rough edges. My only complaint would be the amount of residual sugars.