12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 7/18/2016. Pours very hazy deep orange/copper/amber/light reddish color with a 1 finger dense and creamy off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big orange peel, golden raisin, peach, plum, fig, pear, apricot, red apple, cinnamon, peppercorn, coriander, clove, wood bark, honey, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, cherry, wood char, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. Slight booze in the aromas as it warms, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready malts, orange peel, spices, fruity yeast, and rye whiskey barrel notes; with big strength. Taste of big orange peel, golden raisin, peach, plum, fig, pear, apricot, red apple, cinnamon, peppercorn, coriander, clove, wood bark, honey, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, cherry, wood char, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness; and rye whiskey, bitters, oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of orange peel, golden raisin, peach, plum, fig, pear, apricot, red apple, cinnamon, peppercorn, coriander, clove, wood bark, honey, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, brown bread/crust, licorice, cherry, wood char, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, orange peel, spices, fruity yeast, and rye whiskey barrel flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, fairly sticky/tannic, and lightly slick mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 10.3%, and lingering barrel booziness after the finish. Overall this is an awesome spiced American strong ale. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, orange peel, spices, fruity yeast, and rye whiskey barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the modestly bitter/spicy/drying finish. Pretty much perfectly balanced between rich dark/bready malts, spices, fruity yeast, and rye whiskey barrel presence/integration. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. Not overly boozy/tannic on barrels. A really enjoyable offering, and impressively well made experimental style as expected. Showcases the base American strong ale style really well.

Citrusschil, bitter, leunt tegen barleywine.

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 10/19/2018. Pours fairly hazy deep golden orange/amber color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky cream colored head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of huge red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, wood, light pepper, pine, honey, toasted biscuit, light caramel/nutty, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of huge red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, wood, light pepper, pine, honey, toasted biscuit, light caramel/nutty, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy, woody, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, honey, toasted biscuit, light caramel/nutty, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no lingering hop astringency after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy/sticky, and lightly resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 7.5%. Overall this is a fantastic IPA! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the modestly bitter/drying finish, not aggressive. Feels like a lot of Centennial/Amarillo. Very juicy and fairly dank/earthy hops; with a great bready Munich malt backbone. Mild residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on classic tasting Midwest style example.