8th January 2024, Shrewsbury Beer Share in Chez Sophie, five guys and loads of beers! I brought this 500ml capped and waxed 500ml bottle: BB 17th January 2026. Beige crust on a black body. Really enjoyed this, good whiskey undertone below a malty and chocolatey base. Boozy and warming, very pleasant all round.

Bourbon barrel version of this Irish barleywine, bottle shared with Craftmember at Bar Beenhouwer. Frothy and firm, egg-white, slowly receding head on a very dark chestnut brown robe with coppery glow – much darker than average for a barleywine. Aroma of dry caramel, pecan nuts, autumn leaves, soggy toast, rosemary, brown bread crust, vague notes of clove and liquorice in the background, walnut oil, touch coffee, old wood – but the bourbon as such remains very subtle. Dryish onset, dried autumn fruits (blueberries) and figs, softish carb, full and bit vinous body; lovely pecan-nutty, brown-bready and dry-caramelly maltiness with walnutty ‘crust’, the toasty aspect of which pairs well with a firm, leafy hop bitterness in the finish, aided by tannic woodiness and indeed, but only in the very end, a whiff of bittersweet bourbon colouring it all. The alcohol as such, however, remains perfectly hidden in this wonderfully balanced, solidly structured beer – a barley wine with certain Scotch influences, I would say. Brehon never disappoints!