8.4

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Tulip at the brewery - I’ve been avoiding this one because I do not generally enjoy tequila or tequila aged beers, but I really love their barley wines here, so I finally went for it - I’m glad I did, because this is another solid barley wine from them - first of all, it looks beautiful - medium amber with a creamy, one-two finger head (I’ve never seen such a high abv beer with such a beautiful head) - tequila is present up front, adding some initial earthiness, but after that it mostly gets out of the way - spiciness, dried fruit, sherry, light oxidation, caramelized sugars all populate the middle - moderate bitterness late balances out some of the sweetness - warming but not overpowering alcohol in the finish - this is some solid stuff!