Machine Convene
Cellarmaker Brewing Company in Oakland, California, United States 🇺🇸
Collab with: Horus Aged AlesBarley Wine - Barley Regular
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Score
7.65
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A luscious barrel-aged barleywine, aged to perfection in W.L. Weller Bourbon Barrels, conditioned on Kyle's secret vanilla blend for an extra layer of decadence bringing deep caramel, toffee, and bourbon warmth.
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8.3/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 8.5
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Amber-brown, no head. Huge vanilla on the nose. Some dates in there as well. Soft and sweet, raisins, cream, vanilla, like a rice pudding with sherry, that's a fucking dessert. Just a touch of orange and raisin acidity to attempt balancing those sugars. Barrel tannins, that little bit of fruitiness, damn that's layers of ridiculousness. A quality Cellarmaker barley wine with an added layer of Horus richness, what could go wrong?
Tried
from Bottle
at
Cellarmaker Brewing Company - Oakland
on 12 Apr 2026
at 07:21
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
375mL bottle, pours a deep dark brown with a small beige head. Aroma is decadent and complex, with deep bourbon barrels, treacle toffee, dark sugars, and a touch of bready caramel. Flavour is complex and sweet, with deep butterscotch, big bourbon barrels, treacle toffee, and plenty of booze that cuts down a bit on the sugar. Extremely rich, deep and sweet (but not cloying). Finishes with loads of bourbon and butterscotch. Very nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Apr 2026
at 07:17
8.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 8.5
Texture 8
Overall 8
375mL bottle. Pours dark brown with a minimal head. Layers of brown sugar, candied fruits, bourbon, and vanilla on the nose. Flavour has a ton of burnt butterscotch, incredible malt depth for that sweetness, bourbon barrels, vanilla beans. The intensity of the sweetness is offset by the complexity of the beer. This is excellent.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Apr 2026
at 03:18
8/10
Das a lot of vanilla, but damn the BiL base is smoooooth and delish! Going to let it warm up, reluctantly. Warm it's still very sweet vanilla but also sweet figs and sweet candied raisins. It works even though it's definitely sweet.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Oct 2025
at 19:19
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 8.5
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Poured from a 375 ml bottle.
Aroma is malt forward with quite a bit of caramel, toffee, tootsie roll and vanilla. Lighter notes of chocolate, burnt sugar and toasted bread. Medium light bourbon and alcohol notes with hints of oak.
Pours dark brown with lighter brown hues on the edges and a small, thin, tan head that recedes quickly and disappears. No lacing and long legs.
Flavor is rather sweet with lots of caramel, toffee, tootsie roll, and burnt sugar. Lighter notes of toasted bread and hints of chocolate. Medium bitterness and medium light alcohol notes. Medium light bourbon notes and hints of oak. Quite a bit of vanilla.
Mouthfeel is full bodied and a bit sticky with low carbonation. Low astringency and medium alcohol warmth.
Overall, a solid Barleywine with a ton of vanilla. Nice malt notes with layers of caramel. Boozy, but the vanilla hides it a bit. I might like the regular one more because the vanilla is so strong.
Aroma is malt forward with quite a bit of caramel, toffee, tootsie roll and vanilla. Lighter notes of chocolate, burnt sugar and toasted bread. Medium light bourbon and alcohol notes with hints of oak.
Pours dark brown with lighter brown hues on the edges and a small, thin, tan head that recedes quickly and disappears. No lacing and long legs.
Flavor is rather sweet with lots of caramel, toffee, tootsie roll, and burnt sugar. Lighter notes of toasted bread and hints of chocolate. Medium bitterness and medium light alcohol notes. Medium light bourbon notes and hints of oak. Quite a bit of vanilla.
Mouthfeel is full bodied and a bit sticky with low carbonation. Low astringency and medium alcohol warmth.
Overall, a solid Barleywine with a ton of vanilla. Nice malt notes with layers of caramel. Boozy, but the vanilla hides it a bit. I might like the regular one more because the vanilla is so strong.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Mar 2025
at 04:55
8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 6
Overall 9
Draft. Black beer with a low tan head. Big vanilla aroma with playdough and light bourbon. Caramel and vanilla flavor with bourbon. Medium-plus bodied. Vanilla and caramel linger with bourbon and light playdough.
Tried
on 25 Feb 2025
at 22:03