Frothy white fair mostly diminishing head. Cloudy brown colour. Moderate malty and hoppy aroma. Moderate bitter very acetic nutty flavor. Average finish. Creamy palate. More oud bruin than barley wine.

Panda at home, thanks to Kenny, 20/01/24. Unclear deep amber to chestnut brown with a fast escaping beige crown. Nose is ripe fruit esters, oak, tannins, booze tunes, light barnyard edge ... could pass as a sour. Taste comprises stewed fruits, light tang, red grape must, vinous, damp oak. Medium bodied with some bite, fine carbonation, semi drying close with a light spike of alcohol and warming boost. Not bad if a little tangy and not a smooth ride.

6th January 2024
A mild to medium haze on this amber beer, small bubbly tan head. Nose is grappa and ripe fruits along with some suspicious guezey notes. Palate is pretty light for a barleywine, light and dry and with decent fine minerally carbonation. The malts are thin for the style but carry a light creamy sweetness and a decent amount of toffee - caramel. The grappa barrel is obvious, with spicy aniseed and a little licorice and, a much lesser, fruit liqueur. A surprising tartness, from somewhere, carries over from the nose. Quite a light and fairy dry finish. Interesting. I think I would have preferred a more trad rich malt base with the grappa barrel, but what has been delivered here is a bit different, but pretty tasty and drinkable.

Bottle at home. Pours deep amber, nose is funk, grape, caramel, wood, vanilla, taste is similar, sweet.

Grappa barrel aged barleywine from a classy and unusually shaped bottle – this is craft beer the Italian way, that much is clear, and by the very first ‘artisanal’ brewery the country welcomed; I had no idea this brewery still existed but apparently it does, so for its historical relevance alone, I’m glad I stumbled upon this bottle. Light gusher, but manageable – yet pointing at mild infection. Off-white, moussy, irregularly lacing, thinnish but stable head, misty ruddy-peachy amber robe, murky and much deeper brown with sediment. Aroma of sweet dessert wine, ripe nectarine, gooseberry jam, candied orange, Grand Marnier and indeed spicy-boozy grappa, moist vanilla-scenting oak, honey liqueur, cashew nuts, marzipan, soggy gingerbread, cinnamon, sweetbread, stewed apple. Sweet, candied onset, peach, marmalade, pineapple, medium carb, full mouthfeel but a bit less vinous than it could and should have been; an initial light sourish note grows and grows, achieving effective, very wine-like tartness in the end, albeit under a thick layer of caramelly and peanutty malt sweetness and even thicker residual, honeyish sugary sweetness, though this tart element, likely the result of an infection, prevents it from becoming cloying. Boozy, yeasty, earthy and sweet finish, clear warming and spicy grappa indeed, a bit cognac-like, with solventy effects, lots of soaking wet wood and phenolic yeasty accents – but as said, it is still the residual sweetness that remains the dominant factor. This in itself is not a problem for a barleywine of course, but the infected tartness and slight dirtiness are clearly far less intentional; still, there are not too many disfiguring off-flavours here, so in a certain way, I guess the infected element can be seen as a ‘happy accident’ because the overall flavour is enjoyable, complex and rich enough.

Bottle thanks Daniele, kiss. Cloudy amber light pour, off white little foam. Nose: vinous, sour wild, dried fruit, wood. Mouth: low carbo, vinous, a bit unbalanced but interesting, sweet pastry followed right away by a sour tart.

On tap @Ma che siete venuti a fà (Rome). Rossastra intensa, schiuma leggera. Al naso note di malto, frutta rossa, leggero tostato, quindi emerge un carattere vinoso, botte. In bocca è dolce all'attacco con finale vinoso e leggermente tart, botte. Corpo pieno, carbonazione medio-bassa. Caotica, ma non male nel complesso.