hazy brown colour, medium sized yellowish-beige-ish head; aroma of liqueur, toffee, some toasted bred, hints of overripe fruits and surprisingly celery; taste is syrupy with the same notes (including celery - which is quite unique, but still fits to the ’beer’); good barley wine

Deep dark brown coloured body with a thinnish tan head, about a centimetre tall. Aroma of nice toasted malt, caramel, toffee, pit fruits, raisins, figs, prunes, very light hops, some moderate alcohol and a nice cognac complexity near the end. Medium to Full-bodied; Nice flavour at first with cherries, sweet notes from raisins and figs, but then shows the malt and peat flavours right afterwards, then finishing with some chocolate, whiskey and even syrupy flavours. Aftertaste shows the pit fruits and the malt nicely with a touch of scotch, sour cherries and oakiness all coming through with equal potency at the end. Overall, a nice barley wine (vin d’orge) with a smooth complexity and a solid set of flavours. Worth packing in a suitcase and aging it for quite a while, for sure. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Au Coin Duluth in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 20-September-2014 for CA$3,79 sampled at home in Washington on 03-March-2016. Bottle looks like it says (notched) November 2013, but that may not be accurate. Beer Made: November 2013 // Purchased: September 2014 // Sampled: March 2016

Bottle. Aroma: very malty, wine and cognac, caramel, toffee. Powerful taste: porto, a little brandy, liqueur and good hops. Excellent beer.

Ale de hardy at the brewery which is currently Canada’s best barleywine and rings in at 10.5% Crystal clear dark amber with a big fruity malty caramel nose. Wow, wonderful sweet sugary malts, candied plums, figs, cinnamon and spice. Simply delicious malty goodness. I just wish I was sipping this on a cold winter day.