Thanks Santa! Huge aroma, loaded with sugary toffee bready malts, and deep persimmon and date fruitiness. Just very bready. Appealing dark red color, purplish tinge, thin layer of fine bubbled head, short lived. Modest lacing. Very heady in the mouth, with alcohol and fruit swirling over the palate and sending wafts of retronasal aromas back up. Finish is burnt sugar, a little grainy on the sides provides some complexity, with a light bitterness to keep it in the realm of balance. Heavy but easy palate. Pretty sweet on the whole.

Bottle. Red pour with a big head and moderate retention. Grainy aroma with hints of citrus and pear. Taste is almost identical with the hop bitterness slightly stronger.

Courtesy of gford217: Poured a medium color ale with a nice light brown foamy head with good retention and good lacing. Aroma of sweet barley malt is pleasant. Taste is a mix between some sweet malt with light dry fruits notes. Great carbonation with an average full body and no apparent alcohol. Hops presence is quite low but I didn’t mind since I prefer English style barleywine usually. Not the most complex offering but still very enjoyable.

From my review on cvillebeergeek.blogspot.com:

Appearance: Pours a deep, dark color with a reddish tinge. A tan one-finger head makes a brief appearance before fading to a thin, milky film on the beer’s surface. 3.0/5.0

Aroma: There is a definite roasted malt character which is common with this style. Sweet coffee seems to dominate any other aromas. Very pleasant but very straightforward. 3.5/5.0

Taste: The roasted malt/coffee character continues to the taste as well, though not as sweetly. There is a fruitiness and a subtle smokiness here as well. I also get faint notes of hop bitterness, caramel, Cheerios (no kidding) and tea. 4.0/5.0

Mouthfeel: This beer feels very rich and creamy, but at the same time goes down very easily. It’s an interesting combination. At 5.7% ABV, this one will leave you standing, even if it goes down a bit too fast. 4.5/5.0

Drinkability: Smooth, tasty pleasant, easy going. What’s not to like? 4.5/5.0

Overall: "The Dark Beer Specialist" might sound a little scary, but all they really mean is that they’re not afraid of flavor. While this beer is definitely not light on flavor or body, it is highly approachable and a good example of the style. It doesn’t look pretty, but it drinks very nicely. 3.94/5.0

Thanks to kp for including this bonus off my wantlist! Pours pure black with a moderate dark brown head. Strong caramel toffee aroma with notes of chocolate and coffee. Very roasty bitter taste of coffee, chocolate, sour cherry. Big, big taste.

Bottle from kp. Thanks Keith! Pours yellowish black with little head. Sweet aroma that smells a lot like coffee syrup (or whatever that stuff I experienced in Rhode Island was called). Some grain, coconut and tobacco notes also in the aroma. The aroma is much more complex than the taste, and is the kind of aroma you want to just sit there and take in. Taste is sweet-bitter in that order. Starts off with sweet maple, chocolate and coffee notes and moves quickly into coffee ground bitterness. Decently balanced. Alcohol is very warming.

12 oz bottle pours a deep copper, brown color with a lacing, syrupy looking tan head. Aroma was initially very fruity but up close it’s extremely sweet with brown sugar, toffee, and sweet caramel dominating the aroma. Smells delicious and makes you want to sip it. Flavor is very typical barleywine, sweet and sugary, vanilla, bourbon, white grapes, cloves and other spice, honey and maple. Very thick on the tongue, a little salty on the lips and a slight, lasting tartness. Could have used a touch less malt and a touch more hop to round things out.

Sampled in the presentation tent at WBF Raleigh. Ruby/brown color with a small head. Caramel and dark fruit aroma. Taste of dark fruits that fade quickly into hop bitterness. Interesting and complex. 6/4/7/4/15/3.7

Rerate: Bottle best by 6/08. Deep red color with big frothy head. Mild aroma is caramel, hops, nuttiness and fruitiness. Taste is dark fruits, nuts and a mild hoppiness. Medium body. 6/4/7/4/14/3.5