Bottle at home. Rich malty aroma with dark bread, dried fruits, wood, spicy notes, caramel, berries, and welcome hoppy notes. Flavour is medium sweet and moderate bitter. Body is medium. Lots of chewy malt and interesting flavours in this very drinkable beer.

Classically English style barleywine (or indeed old ale) from this to me hitherto unknown, but apparently very good Estonian craft brewer, sampled at LIBF. Medium thick, yellowish off-white, bubbly head, open in the middle, on a cloudy, ochre-tinged peachy amber coloured beer. Aroma of peaches drenched in ‘jenever’, sherry, marmalade, Grand Marnier, vanilla-ish oak wood, honey, pineapple, calvados. Sweetish pineapple-like onset with a sourish plum-like note, not cloying, softly carbonated with a thick, vinous body. Sweet, rounded cereally and lightly caramelly maltiness, lingering honeyish residual sugar effects but again nothing cloying, soft sourish gooseberry jam touch, long finish with delicate vanilla-like wood presence, a peppery hop bitter touch and a dash of earthy yeastiness, evidently followed by warming, liqueurish and brandy-like alcohol. Exemplary for this style, a lovely sipper.

330ml bottle. Milky, dark copper colour with average to huge, fluffy, moderately lasting and lacing, off-white to beige head. Barley Wine-like, sweet-ish, malty aroma with notes of almond, marzipan, slightly resinous and citrusy hoppy overtones, hints of orange, mandarine, candied orange peel. Taste is initially sweet caramel malty, notes of almond and marzipan, later more dry and woody, fruity and mildly bitter hoppy counterweight with notes of orange, mandarine, candied orange zest, marmite-like interludes, papery cardboard overtones. This has exacly the sweet, Barley Wine- or Stock Ale-like kind of maltiness I don't like (not to forget the cardboard notes indicating oxidised hop) - sorry.

How: Bottle, fresh and two year old side by side.
Where: At the brewery.
Appearance: Amber colour with a tan head.
Aroma: Fruit, hops, malt, alcohol. More fruit in the fresh version, the vintage version heavier.
Body: Full body, low carbonation.
Flavour: Fruit, malt, alcohol. The newer version sweeter, lighter, the vintage version has a thicker heavier more of a dried fruit character.
Comment: Prefer the older version a more than the newer. The rating reflects the vintage version.

Got to rate two bottles side by side, older vintage compared to a fresh version.RBESG 2017, sampled on July 21, 2017.At the brewery, Pühaste, ending the ride from Riga to Tartu. Brewery stop no 3, where the bus left us.From bottles, 8% and 47 IBU.New/Fresh version:Clear copper color, tan head. Hoppy, herbal scent. Grainy, fruity, alcohol taste. Medium mouthfeel, high bitterness.6/4/6/3/12=3.1Older/vintage version:Hazy copper color, white head. Sweet, alcohol, grainy scent. Malty, grainy taste. Warming alcohol. Medium mouthfeel, medium high bitterness. Grainy aftertaste.7/3/8/3/15=3.6

2 different vintages at the brewery, side by side. 1st Batch and newest batch. Amber colour, thin beige head. Aroma of watery caramel, herbal, light raisin, hint of sweet white wine. Flavour is medium sweet, fairly light considering ABV, light malty, light caramel, hint of nuts, light dry white wine, herbal bitterness. Medium bodied at best. The newer batch was slightly dryer and hoppier, the older a little more vinous with raisins.

7 3 7 3 15 Bottle at the source, RBESG ’17. Clear amber with a small off white head. Aroma of herbs, malt, caramel and toffee. Flavour is moderate sweet and light moderate bitter. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.

Rood/amber met licht getinte kraag. Aroma van mout, graan, fruit, zwaar. Smaken zijniets droog, caramel, matig bitter, zoetig, hout, glad, wat weirde bittere/metalige dronk... overall maar een vreemd bier, niet echt de lekkere typische old ale zoals ik ze liever heb