Pint can, courtesy of my Secret Santa (thanks Santa), pours with a deep mahogany colored body that supports a nice tan head of foam. The aroma offers up fruity esters like plums, dates and a dash of cherry flowing into clouds of sweet smelling maltiness and a bit of reduced sugars and brown sugar. The taste delivers smooth yet slightly tangy plum to date to a sliver or two of cherry. Behind the dark fruity esters are notes of sweet malts, a bit of nutty malts and then a blend of brown sugar and dark toffee. Nice. Best before April, 2022. Uh oh. Tasting just dandy right now and showing zero signs of negative aging. Solid barleywine.

Can at home in Hackney - picked up from HOTM. Pours deep brown with a rich, frothy tan head. Medium sweet flavour, rich semi-dark malts, toffee, ripening dark fruits, a hint of burnt toast, earth, butterscotch. Full bodied with fine to average carbonation. Warming finish, lots of toasted malts, nips of earth, faint cocoa, raisins, dates, berries. Outstanding stuff. Loads of depth and good drinkability.

Can from The Star & Garter, Bromley. Mahogany coloured pour with a beige head. Aromas of toffee apple,lots of orchard fruits,caramel, spiced fruits,glace cherries.Taste is brown sugar, coffee,toffee apple,orchard fruits,candy floss/cotton candy,more spiced fruits.Boozy sweet mouthfeel with a pronounced bitterness in the close.

Panda thanks to Cloin: Poured a deep brown black with an off white head. Aroma is boozy, malty, dark fruits. Taste is molasses, rich roasted malts, boozy, caramel, dark fruits.

Panda 🐼 at home thanks to Colin. A clear mahogany brown coloured pour with a decent light tan head. Aroma is rich figgy pud, cola cubes, bark earthy brown sugars, dried fruit. Flavour is composed of medium sweet, rich cakey malts, rich dried fruits, apple, sticky brown sugars, plummy jam. Palate is medium sweet, sticky, rounded, mellow carbonation,. super rich.

Can at home, probs from HOTM online, 07/01/22. Deep mahogany brown with a decent lasting beige head. Nose is nutty, toffee, dark malts, figs, fruit cake mix, caramel, spice. Taste comprises fruit cake, sultanas, mellow chocolate, spice, dates, toffee, prunes. Medium bodied with bite, fine carbonation, semi drying close with a balanced kiss of alcohol. Solid approachable and well balanced barely wine.

Barley Wine kindly offered by Graham. Thanks to you for these discoveries. Globalement agréable, sur des arômes d'une bonne complexité allant sur le chocolat, le caramel, la noisette, la vanille, le raisin et de légères épices, ce Barley Wine aurait gagné à avoir un alcool un peu mieux intégré. Ce dernier, pourtant qu'à 9 % (ce qui n'est pas extraordinaire pour le style) ressort en effet tout particulièrement et casse un peu de la rondeur recherchée dans le style. Le visuel est sur un brun foncé avec une mousse s'estompant rapidement. Le nez est sympathique, sur le chocolat, caramel, noisette, raisin et vanille. L'alliance fonctionne correctement. En bouche de légères épices apparaissent. Si la complexité est bonne, on regrette une certaine linéarité à la dégustation. L'alliance malt/amertume est plutôt bon, l'amertume donnant la touche de fraicheur nécessaire pour atténuer un sucre un peu trop présent. L'alcool quant à lui ressort de trop pour le style et notamment en arrière-bouche. La corpulence est bonne tout comme la longueur sur un final sobre. Agréable.

Very dark brown colour with thin head. Aroma has woody notes, sweet dried fruits and lots of malt sweetness. Flavour is similar but with caramel notes too. Rich and warming.