Not Really A Barley Wine

Got in a trade with AZBeerDude72. 16 ounce can into snifter, no can dating. Pours nearly opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger dense light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a thin lace cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big raisin, plum, cherry, fig, date, apricot, red apple, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, smoke, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready/roasted malts, fruity yeast, and light earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of big raisin, plum, cherry, fig, date, apricot, red apple, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, smoke, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery, roasted bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark fruit, cherry, apricot, red apple, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, brown bread/crust, molasses, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, smoke, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/roasted malts, fruity yeast, and light earthy hop flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 11%. Overall this is an awesome English barleywine. All around awesome dark/bready/roasted malts, fruity yeast, and light earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish; awesome soft feel for the style. Awesome balance of rich malts and fruity yeast; with solid earthy hops. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressively spot on style example. On the roasty side of the style as advertised, but it's not overwhelming.

Pint can pours with a mahogany colored body that supports a thin tan head of foam. The aroma offers up molasses, black strap molasses and then brown sugar dusted prunes. The taste delivers similar notes of sweet molasses, a spicy black strap molasses sensation and then more molasses drizzled over prunes. It rides into the finish rather effortlessly with lingering sweet maltiness hanging around for a while. Solid sipper.