Sample at the Smokehouse. The beer is a clear pale copper color with a medium thin and creamy off-white head that has fair retention. Spotty lacing. Sweet malty aroma with a fair amount of hops. Medium-bodied with a solid caramel malt character that props up a moderate amount of hops. The finish is sweet caramel and malt at first with a lingering hoppiness left behind. Pretty good.

Thanks to Trep for bringing a growler of this to kp’s Fest of 26. Slightly hazy light amber body with a fleeting head. Muted hop aroma with a solid underlying malt base. Smooth, well balanced, nice bitter finish.

Barley’s flirted with the IIPA style back in 2003 with the Kiss My Bitter Ass IPA. That beer was stronger than a normal IPA, but not quite an Imperial. Now they have finally ventured into the style fully and the results are pretty good. Served in a snifter. Murky dark orange/amber color with a medium off-white head with fair retention. Spotty lacing. Citrusy hops aroma with a good amount of malt. Medium-bodied and smooth yet bitter. Citrus and hops dominate the flavor, with some pine and malt thrown in. The finish is bitter on the tongue, with a piney hops aftertaste and a mild alcohol burn. Pretty good all around.

On tap at the Smokehouse. Pale golden color with noticeable carbonation and a thin white head. Very little lacing. Light hops and blueberry aroma. Light-bodied and bubbly with the blueberry flavor surprisingly subdued. There is really only the merest suggestion of the fruit, as well as a small amount of malt and hops. The finish is straightforward and clean with a bit of blueberry and hops. Overall a decent fruit beer, but putting aside the novelty there is not much to make it stand out.

2004 bottle hand bottled by JCW, thanks! Deep brown cola color to the body and even had some head left in it. Aroma gives some hint of the spices used, ginger and cinnamon being somewhat prominent, with a very dry roast as well as as some burnt characteristics. The body has a soft, lazy carbonation, watery at the end, with a fluffy texture to it. Light toffee, dates, licorice and more burnt malt in the background. No hops are apparent, nor is the orange zest. Flavor is initially sweet, but then trails off in to a watery nothingness. If you told me this was 6 percent alcohol, I would believe it. I should have drank this sooner, in all fairness to the beer, but I wanted to share it. I have to give it some credit because I know the beer would taste better fresh on tap. Near the top of my "need to rerate list".

This anniversary beer pours like a cold cup of coffee. Dark brown but it lets quite a bit of light through. Medium thin and rocky sandpaper colored head that dissipated quickly. Thin, spotty lacing throughout the glass. The aroma is all coffee, all the time. A light touch of malt in the nose as well but it is minute compared to the blast of java. Medium-bodied, roasty and very smooth, with coffee at the forefront, especially as it warms. It makes for an enjoyable drink although the downside is that it is one-dimensional. Malt and chocolate are present at times but at no point will you forget that coffee is the name of the game here. The finish is dry and roasty like espresso. A good offering from Barley’s, and I am interested to try the ice-cream made from this.

From the firkin at Barley's Mini RAF on March 27th. Pours a cloudy orange color with a thin orangish-white head. Aroma is a pleasant hops and fruit concoction. Not as good as the Buckeye '76 but still a good IPA, especially out of the firkin. Strong hops flavor up front but kind of a muted flavor as the glass progresses. Not sure what the ABV is but the alcohol seems to mellow out the hops bite a little. I still like it a lot better than their Centennial IPA.

Yet another good brew from Barley''s. Pours almost black with a thin off-white head and minimal lace. Aroma of black cherry was not as strong as I was expecting. Flavor was on the sharp side with cherry and malt present in good harmony. Dry, lightly hopped finish. Not bad at all.