One of apparently two barrel aged barleywines by this northern French brewery, the other one being aged on armagnac barrels. Brown longneck bottle from Geers. Regularly shaped, pale greyish beige, mousy, medium sized head, slowly showing gaps in the middle and eventually dissolving completely in the middle of an initially crystal clear, deep, autumny copper-hued, pure amber coloured beer with disparate sparkling here and there - a beauty at this point, but turning to lightly hazy with dark dead yeast bits and almost no head in the end. Strong bouquet of rum-soaked raisins, stewed plums, caramel, sweet cognac, old oak wood (including a vanilla whiff), toffee, fried apples, old white port wine and even a touch of 'rusty' oxidation, dry cookies, biscuit, faint hints of cloves, candied orange peel, quince jam, rosé champagne. Sweet onset with a sourish undertone, not cloying or overly sugary, 'candied' fruity with aspects of quince jam, red apple and medlar, blackberry-ish edge, quite lively carbonated for the style with little minerally 'stings'; smooth, bit oily mouthfeel, vinous but somehow thinner than expected from a beer this strong. Supple caramelly malts with a peanutty edge and a light toffeeish core, a tad bready, sweet with a toasty-bitterish edge but very softly so; cognac shows up in the finish, lending it a sweet brandy colour and heating booze which spreads over the root of the tongue - yet somehow manages to avoid too much unpleasant astringency. Caramel, candied orange and gingerbread hints linger alongside a mild and brief leafy hop bitter note, while the barrels add a light tannic effect; meanwhile a notably champagne-like scent rises up retronasally - has champagne yeast been used here? Lean and supple, a spritzy and fruity apéritif beer in many ways, lacking a bit in 'vinousness' and needs a thicker malt body for what it intends to be, but there is a clear old school Anglo-Saxon streak to it not unlike the original, historical English barleywines. Not bad at all, France is still growing in both quality and quantity when it comes to craft beer, but is more and more becoming a country to watch closely, especially the northern part, from which I had several great beers from still relatively unknown breweries in the past months. Interesting one, for sure.

Bottle split at CCV, thanks, Cotteridge Wines 08/06/19. Light haze on a golden orange pour with a decent off white covering. Nose is tangy fruit esters, hay, toasted grains, dried fruits. Taste comprises orange peel, apricot, sugars, straw, dusty fruits, light caramel. Medium plus bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close. Ok.

Botella de @Carrefour, Toulouse. 08/12/2019. Color amarillo corona de espuma blanca, aromas levadura, sabor levadura, herbales, cuerpo medio.

19/XI/19 - 33cl bottle @ HoReCa-Expo Gent, BB: n/a - (2019-1868) Thanks to the brewers and the Ghent Beer Posse for sharing today’s beers!

Clear dark brown beer, small aery irregular white head, stable, non adhesive. Aroma: oxidized, caramel, orange peel, lots of dried fruits, some milk chocolate. MF: ok carbon, medium to full body. Taste: sweet start, lots of caramel, dried fruits, chocolate, oxidized, alcohol, orange peel, very nice! Aftertaste: soft bitterness, alcohol, fruity, dried fruits, oxidized, armagnac I guess, very nice!

Pours clear blonde, small white head. Smell is green, funky, spiced ( herbs ) , bit unbalanced. Taste is full, sharp, herbal, bitter, tad dry. Mild sweetness. Bit to green/herbal to my liking. Nice, malty ending, bit salty

Bit thin but yummy chocolate upfront, tannic finish, dry and sweet.

33cl bottle from Carrefour hypermarket in Rethel, France. F: big, white, almost good retention. C: pale gold, hazy. A: malty, orange peels, floral, spicy, bit bready. T: medium malty base, floral, spicy, there are bitter orange peel so bit strange bit harsh bitterness, raw feeling yet bio so ok, drinkable, medium carbonation.

Bottle from Geers. Dark brown colour, beige foam. Lots of carbonation. Nose of bourbon, plums, dark fruit. Taste is sourish, light sweet, unbalanced. Not very nice.

Phenomenal clear red-copper beer; thick, stable, cream-coloured head. Alcohol, spirit barrels, winegrapes, winemost. Yeast slabs, vegamite - if sweeter. Sweet-wooden barrels-grapes, vinous. Pretty good balance. Armagnac is clearly detectable. Hint at rosewater. Well-bodied, alcoholheat; slick, not very carbonated. Quite good B.W., but it might have been half as good again, if it had been bottled on lees.