7.9

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

12 oz. bottle, pours a clear dark amber with a medium beige head. Aroma has a nicely complex malt character: lots of toasted bread, dry toasted caramel, a bit of baking spice, and dry toffee. Flavour is much the same, with lots of toffee, toasted caramel, bready malt, and again with that spiciness, maybe a bit of nuttiness too. Not too sweet, but with a very nice malt character. Not the usual, brutal, sweet barley wine, but instead, a carefully blended, nuanced, rounded strong ale. Excellent.