Smoked barley wine, a collab of two of Holland’s most brilliant brewers – this can hardly go wrong… Bottle from Être Gourmet shared with Goedele. Membranous lacing, thick and creamy, pale yellowish beige, dense head over a hazy, mahogany-tinged ruddy bronze beer. Aroma has a lot of smoked malts (smoked bacon – and a hint of Cuban cigars), accompanying impressions of candied cherries, butterscotch, wet toast, pecan nuts, cedar wood, port, old bread, fig, dried orange peel, some damp tree leaf mustiness when adding the sediment. Fig compote and candied orange sweetness in the onset, noble, with a subtle undercurrent of sourish dried apple peel-like flavours; thick, vinous mouthfeel, bit sticky from the residual sugar sweetness, softly carbonated. Thick, caramelly middle, toffeeish malts plus caramelized dark sugar sweetness, cashew- or pecan nut-like aspects, light toasted bitterishness, with the sugariness lingering and cloying a bit. Marmalade- and port-like aspects accompany a very pronounced, meaty smokiness, smoked sausages almost, followed by a pleasantly warming, non-astringent, rum-like alcohol glow. Beautiful hybrid of an English style barleywine with a Rauchbier – the kind of thing both De Molen and Kees excel at. Would love to revisit this one after some aging.

Tap. Copper-amber color, slightly yellowish foam. Aroma: sweet, raisins, dried fruits, sweetness, light smoked. Taste: sweetish, raisins, smoked plum and cheese, wine, good.

Bottle shared with Ashton McCobb. Pours clear red-brown with a thin fawn head. Aromas of jammy fruit and spice. Light smoke at the back. Taste is more sweet fruit and spice. Very well balanced, avoiding syrupiness.

Bottle from the Beer Cave, Dalry Rd, Edinburgh. Appearance - deep red and autumnal. Lovely fawn head. Nose - plum jam with clove. Maybe rhubarb jam actually. Taste - luscious stewed rhubarb and clove again. Palate - medium bodied and tangy. Long dry tangy middle and finish. Balanced with it,mind! Overall - ingredients say the basic 4, but is there something spicy in there too?

Bottle from het Biermoment. Dark color, short frothy head. Aroma of smoked meat. Smokey taste, toffee sweetness. Liquid smokey sausage, lovely