0.5 L bottle, "Best before" 29 Dec 06. Better get to those Young’s beers before the original brewery closes, I think. Besides, we’re close to finally selling our house; I want to buy a big beer and DRINK it, not cellar it (okay, so as a barley wine, it’s kind of puny, but you know.) In a small goblet, pours a proper barley wine garnet red, about two fingers of foam. Smell is okay, but a little thin. Taste comes in the same way, though. Pretty thin on malts. Really not much more than an amber ale, and a bit soured at that. Slight touch of pear, perhaps.There is a big bitterness that’s above and beyond the usual English ale. A bit sticky, but lacking those complex qualities they claim. Could benefot from more alcohol presence. Bitter finish is good enough though. This is an import bottle of course, but for once it seems pretty fresh, so should be as the brewer intended.

Pours deep ruby into a snifter. Microbubble head leaves no lacing as it slowly recedes. Slighly sour earth notes. Creamy sweet with a bittersweet metallic finish.

Dark ruby red with white head. The smell is dark fruits and caramel. Very strong smell. However the texture is quite thin. The aftertaste is sweet and light bitter. Felling a bit of the warmth from the alcohol!

Bottle 0,5l at Morpeth Arms London SW1 27 Apr 06. Dark buby read colour. A large head lasting for a couple of minutes. Medium bodied. Sweet bitter aftertaste - and the strength comes through. Went well together with a Ploughmans Lunch.

Poured deep copper in color with a light brown head. Aroma is a mix of alcohol and malts. Light aroma overall. Nice even flavor of sweet malts and hop flavor. The aftertaste is sweet malts of caramel and toffee with hop flavor followed by a slight hop bitterness combine with some grainy malts at the very end. A bit more hops than the standard English Barelywine. Which is what I like.

Bottle. Pours a dark amber colour with a tan head. Sweet malty and fruity aroma. Sweet malty flavor with some hints of caramel and dark fruits. Sweet malty and warming finish.

Bottled. (BB august 2005) Dark red/brown with a dense, beige, lasting head. Sweet malty aroma, unfortunately with some hints of vomit. Could this be due to the BB-date? Full-bodied with a rich, sweet malty flavor and plenty of hops. Lovely, long sweet and hop-bitter finish. Some alcohol flavors can be found too. (060108)

Bottle: Dark ruby coloured, thin foamy layer, quickly diminishing; vinous nose (Port, Sherry), traces of molasses, traces of raisins and caramel in the aroma; sweet, but also bitter flavour, full bodied; complex sweet fruity finish, with a distinctive chocolatey bitterness coming through the backdoor. An Ersatz-Port for those, who don’t like wine.....................................

(Bottle 33 cl) Dark, reddish amber with a dense head. Rich malty and nutty aromas. Very full, potent and rounded body. Loads of caramel notes, sweet malt and a solid dose of hops. And then some very spicy notes. Very delicious brew. 041200

Bottle. Rich amber brown beer with a nice off-white head. Light sweet malt aroma with caramel and some spice. Caramel flavor with a bit of spice. Medium bodied (a bit too light). Some alcohol. A bit too sweet. Just doesn’t bring enough.