Kairos - Tomo 1

Barleywine aged on three different bourbon barrels, sampled at Wild Festival Groningen 2023 (though technically this is not a ‘wild’ beer). Thin, open, pale beige ring of foam over a clear deep vermillion-tinged copper-bronze robe. Aroma of hazelnut liqueur, bourbon and also brandy, light toast, lovely oaky woodiness, burnt brown sugar, marmite, vanilla, ‘boerenjongens’, port, brown honey, dried cranberries, dried prunes soaked in madera. Densely sweet onset, candied fig, yellow raisin, some pear, softishly carbonated with very full, vinous to almost syrupy mouthfeel, sticky and ‘heavy’ to the point where it begins to hinder drinkability a bit; sweet berry jam thickly poured over a base of hazelnut and mild toast with caramelly core, lots of residual honey-like sugariness clashing with a sharp, peppery, bourbon-like alcohol effect in the finish, burning away everything except for that thick, syrupy sweetness. Oaky vanillin effects retronasally. Trying to impress too hard at this ABV, this muscle-flexing ‘superbarleywine’ has its merits in terms of aroma and flavour, but almost collapses under its own weight. Too thick, too sweet and too boozy for me.

Wfg’23, old