2009 vintage. @ Novare Res. this beer is so comes in both nose and taste it is silly. Not kidding. Ridiculous! Nose is dark fruit, raisins, candy sugar, vanilla oak. Every time I smell and taste this ;I get a different variety of flavors and aroma’s. Texture is vinous, kind of like a flat cognac. Hennessy like in texture. This is magic in a bottle. Changes with each sip. Complexity is off the chain here, (not to sound like an old thug) But truly amazing on every level.

Imported from my RateBeer account as North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve (Bourbon Barrel) (by North Coast Brewing Company):
Aroma: 10/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 9/10, Palate: 5/5, Overall: 19/20, MyTotalScore: 4.7/5

23/11/12 - 50cl bottle @ home - BB: n/a (2012-1303) Thanks to otakuden for the trade!

Clear red brown beer, small off-white head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: wow, amazing! Lots of milk chocolate, caramel, vanilla, sweet, fudge, milk chocolate. MF: soft carbon, medium to full body. Taste: pretty sweet start, caramel, fudge, chocolate, (yoghurt covered) raisins, vanilla, some alcohol. Aftertaste: chocolate, fudge, caramel, bit sweet.

Ruby red colour, slight white head. Aroma of wood, caramel, madeira, raisins, bourbon, vanilla and alcohol. Light sweet flavour, caramel, raisins, over-ripe fruits and alcohol. Quite cloying sweet, but in a sort of dessert wine way.
Very interesting and nice. Wouldn’t want to drink a whole bottle of this, but served in small quantities it is quite lovely.
(From 50cL bottle @ ZZT V. 2009 vintage. Courtesy of joes. Thanks!!)

2009 bottle @ ZZT V. Thanks to Joes. Great dark red color, no head. Smell and taste malts, bourbon, sweetness, wood. Great beer! Full body, medium to full carbonation.

@ZZT V. Copper brown colour with no head. Smells heavily sweet, lots of wood, malts, hazelnut. Tastes sweet, wood, hazelnut, lots of taste. Quite nice.Thick feel, full body, very soft carbo.

Acquired at Hunger Mountain Co-Op in March. I believe this was priced at about $30. Enjoyed at Cellar temp in a snifter.

A - 2-finger slight tan head was produced but faded almost instantly. Very solid alcohol legs on the glass. Sort of a dark brown, hint of amber and plum appearance.

S - Hint of sweetness and minor maltiness on the nose. It’s a very unsuprisingly unsweet scent for a barleywine. Then again, this is an aged beer so perhaps this isn’t too surprising. Smokey oak and Bourbon and present but very smooth and not over boozy. The nose overall has a great balance.

T - This is incredibly hard to describe. First, I get some dark fruits like figs and cherries. Followed by a minor sweetness and hint of delicate vanilla bourbon whiskey. The sweetness is a mix of simple syrup and brown sugar. I love that there’s this caramel and candy like taste at the finish.

M - This coats the tongue and numbs it. It’s a mouth numbing beer that has a sort of orajel like feeling when it numbs things. Very heavy body, slick oily texture and vanilla sweetness finish.

O - This may be one of the finest barley wines I’ve ever had. It’s incredible and exceptional in so many ways. It’s hard to not give this beer a 5.

3rd May 2010
14.6% Version. Cloudy dark brown beer, no head. Light fresh sea breeze nose with a whisper of bourbon. Light palate, crisp and woody - dry. Sweet vanilla bourbon. Minerally mid and then dry creamy licorice with a little spice. Finishes dry. Obviously a strong beer but it doesn’t present much alcohol heat. Delightful if a tad dry.

Sipped from a snifter slowly to stretch out the experience as long as I could. The high ABV taste is there, but it is pleasant and warm. The barrel is also there in the taste, but like the ABV it is a nice accent. I can’t afford to pay $28 for a half-liter very often, but this birthday treat was worth it. I will buy another to put away for my next birthday.

Bottle. Hazy, deep amber body. Small, off-white head, rapidly diminishing. Big aroma of bourbon, oak, vanilla, caramel. The flavor is moderately to heavily sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes moderately sweet and lightly to moderately bitter. Full body, velvety texture, moderate carbonation. Big bourbon taste but not enough to mask flavors of dark fruit and vanilla. Peppery alcohol into the finish. Not a big fan of bourbon-dominated beers. That’s the case here, but it’s really well integrated. Smooth and complex. Nice sipping beer.