Trent & Mersey
River's Edge Brewing Company in Milford Charter Township, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Rotating|
Score
7.04
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The nearly 100 mile Trent and Mersey Canal was cut into the English countryside beginning in 1766 and runs through the legendary brewing town of Burton upon Trent and very well may have aided in the shipping of the very first barley wine. Our take on an English Barley Wine is everything you might expect, plus some things you may not. We added a faint hint of smoked malt to the grain bill and aged it in bourbon barrels for over a year to achieve a dark, bitter and sweet ale with a whiskey barrel finish.
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 2/12/2018. Pours hazy very dark brown color with a small foamy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin spotty lace cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of raisin, plum, fig, date, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, vanilla, toasted oak, and brown bread; with light notes of leather, tobacco, peat smoke, herbal, pepper, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Increasingly boozy in the aromas as it warms, but no too overpowering. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and bourbon barrel notes; with solid strength. Taste of big raisin, plum, fig, date, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, vanilla, toasted oak, and brown bread; with lighter notes of molasses, coconut, leather, tobacco, peat smoke, herbal, pepper, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal/peppery hop bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of raisin, plum, fig, date, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, vanilla, toasted oak, brown bread, molasses, coconut, leather, tobacco, peat smoke, herbal, pepper, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and bourbon barrel flavors; with an nice malt/bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Light carbonation and full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/slick, and lightly syrupy/sticky/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Mildly increasing warmth of 13.5%, with a touch of booze lingering after the finish. Overall this is a very nice English barelywine. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV; with the mildly bitter/drying finish. Very rich and complex, with very well balanced fruity yeast and malts; awesome barrel integration, but just a touch too boozy after the year+ aging in the barrels. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.