8.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8.5

Bought from Bine and Vine, bottle #8811.

Pours a clear beautiful amber with a fine layer of foam. Some lacing, retention is quite good.

The smell is oaky, fruity with dark fruits and apples, caramel malt sweetness. Great aromas.

The taste is sweet up front from caramel, almost honey like, oak is there bringing a charred aspect, apples that bring a slight tartness, but that French oak seems to be the star of the show.

Aboot full bodied, adequate carbonation, it seems to have a dryness that I didn't recognize before.

I would drink this again.

8.3

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

2025 Bottle. As in 2024 this edition is on French Oak.

Nose is toffee, apples, hint of caramel, pear drops, earthy note. Taste leads sweet, then a hit of a tart vinous, sherry note, leading to caramel, nuts, bread, prunes, stewed fruit pear drops, spice, woody barrel, in a drier than expected and spicy finish.

Lovely.

7.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Panda at home, thanks to Dave, 28/08/2025.
Deep chestnut brown topped with a beige head that thins to a swirl.
Nose is toffee, dates, prunes, oaked tone, earthy, vinous nip.
Taste comprises liquid fruit cake, vinous twang, caramel, toasted brown sugars, light tangy fruits, booze tunes.
Medium bodied with bite, fine carbonation, semi drying close with a balanced kiss of alcohol.
Solid complex sipper.

7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

7.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

On tap at Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà, pours a cloudy dark amber with a small beige head. Aroma is full of deep dark dried fruits, toffee, and brown sugar. Flavour is very treacly, with bready toffee, tart dark dried fruits, and a touch of brown sugar. The tartness is strange; I don’t remember prior Thomas Hardy’s ales having tartness. The dried fruit finish is very nice though and there is very little residual sugar for a barley wine. Very good.

8.3

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle at home. Pours clear deep amber, nose is toffee, vanilla, caramel, honey, berries, taste is sweet, juicy berries, honey, toffee, oak. 8/8/9/8/8

8.3

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

12th March 2025
Clear amber beer, good bubbly pale tan head. Airy smooth palate, a little soft. Reasonable fine carbonation, suits the style. Soft caramel malts, a little cream. Dried fruits, ripe fruits. Soft oak and a touch of vanilla. A little of the promised spice on the end. Nice job. Layered and drinkable, slightly sweet but not overly so. Comes together into a pretty quaffable barleywine.

8.9

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9

Bottle from Eltham Wines. Nose is vanilla, Cognac, honey, toffee apple, nuts. Taste is much the same with a splash of flat cola & demerara sugar rounding things off nicely. Uber warming, uber sweet & exceedingly flavoursome.

7.3

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

250 ml bottle No. 00390, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 11.3%. Slightly hazy brown colour, small white head. Aroma of malts, molasses, caramel and oak. Sweet and rich flavour of oak, caramel and old sherry. Minimal bitterness.

7.9

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle bought at Chichester Beerex 2024. They were selling them for a Fiver on the stage. Opaque dark amber. Thin but bubbly white head. Aroma is warming. Boozy, dark fruit and malts. A sweetness to it. Caramelised fruit. Citrus edge, alongside a more boozy element. Marmalade but a very sugary example. Medium-heavy bodied. Oily. Soft carbonation. Long dry astringent finish. Sweet and sugary with the barrel aging then providing a counterbalance.