375ml bottle. Cloudy, dark brown colour with slightly late awakening, small to average, thick, creamy, moderately lasting and lacing, off-white to beige head. Sweet-ish and toasty, caramel malty and slightly fruity aroma, notes of caramel, toffee, fudge, dried fruit, whiffs of toasted oak, Armagnac, Cognac, Calvados. Taste is sweet-ish, toasty and caramel malty, slightly fruity, some BA support, notes of caramel, toffee, fudge, dried fruit, toasted oak, a touch of Armagnac, Cognac, Marsala; minimally warming, alcoholic finish. Creamy to viscous texture, smooth, soft, silky palate, fine and soft carbonation. Balanced, harmonious - very nice sipper.

Last year’s Maiden, Siren’s annual barleywine, each year aged on different barrels or barrel combinations. Pale greyish beige, open, thin head on a hazy chestnut brown beer with warm mahogany hue. Aroma of caramel sauce, brown rum, honey, chestnut liqueur, wet wood, brandy, ripe blue plums, cranberry jam, port sauce on venison, thyme, gingerbread, vague hints of chicken stock, chervil soup and marmalade. Sweet onset, a tad sticky, candied date and fig jam impressions, soft carb, light sourish undertone; brown honey-ish residual sweetness lies over a caramelly and chestnutty malt base with soft bready edges, until a drying tannic effect from the wood sets in, paired with obvious vanilla-like oaky aromas and lengthening a warming, boozy, bittersweet, somewhat herbal finish. Complex and rich wintery sipper as expected, though not my favorite in the series so far, just a tad too sweet and too ‘soupy’ compared with other Maidens I enjoyed before.

Pours clear, dark caramelly brown. Smell is full, rich, sharp maltyness and oak. Tad boozy. Taste is inense, medium thick body, mild booze, very bourbon forward. Oaky, vaniline. Nice , but perhaps lacking some balance.

Draught Thick-set yellow-cream head over fully veiled brown beer. Intense roasted, sweet and nutty nose, hints at madeirisation, fusels, perfumey notes. Sweet, extremely fusel-y, spirits as cognac, brandy,... Very nutty again, nutbread. Very thick, viscous, oily, alcoholheat, fiery, but also creamy feel. Good!

Smell- strong, caramel, malt, alcohol, whiskey/rum/bourbon aroma, nice. Foam - thin, bit to medium, plums, cherry, alcohol, malt, acidic, caramel, chocolate, candy. Head is tiny, dark brown color. Appearance- Generic black bottle cap, but everything is infused in wax, the label is nice. Clear, very dark red-ruby color, no carbonation. From- snifter Taste - plums, cherry, fruits, malt, alcohol, caramel, chocolate, sweetness, and alcohol again. Very alcoholic, but sweety and malty at the same time, fruity, caramel.. well I am repeating myself. Would be better if alcohol would be tamed more.

Bottle sample at a tasting at Yoav's place. Brown. Apple (acetaldehyde), vanilla, wine, malt, caramel, sweet, alcohol.