7.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Canned 12/20/2024, drunk 1/29/2026, as pictured.
Smells English. Rather fruity and nutty with toast, toffee and caramel. Clean, no alcohol. Assumedly its long, cold rest has improved everything and cleaned up any rough edges.
Fruity in the mouth though with some bitterness or is that like a dull alcohol character? It sort of seems like it, and it breaks up the soft, malty goodness and well-attenuated, ample, medium-plus body. Yeah, that's weird. It's actually really nice other than the strange bitterness. Is it just lots of boiled hops? There's no real hop character, but maybe that's why they are calling it an American barleywine. Texture is nice though and there's comforting sweetness but not too much. That said, a year ago when this was released, it would have been too sweet and too rough/bitter.