UPDATED: APR 15, 2024 Found this gem complete with dust on the bottle tucked away on a shelf at JR's Beer Warehouse near Pittsburgh, PA. Bottled 1/11/19. Plenty of pep on opening. Nose of rum raisin, prunes and a bit of yeast duskiness. Pours medium brown with nice off white head that clings to the rim. Stays around, nice legs. Taste of raisins, prunes, figs, sherry. Belgian quad profile. A bit thinner than expected. ABV clocks in around 16 - 20% (nobody seems to know) but 5 years of aging mellows this brew... there is no hot alcohol burn. This is a sipping beer, like a fine port with a bit of soft carbonation. Finish is dry and balanced for a sweet beer. Be aware: powerful alcohol content. A brilliant confection of a brew and totally YUM. Update: having bought a 4 pak there is inconsistency between the bottles as to aging. One was fine, the other murky and turbid with many loose bits of sediment and an off putting yeast twang to the taste. The head receded quickly, like a cola. I tossed it out. Buyer beware as to 1/11/19 bottling date for this brew. I have lowered my rating accordingly.

UPDATED: MAY 28, 2022 12 oz. bottle from Total Wine, Chesapeake, VA (bottled December 2018). Believed to be 16% ABV from information on other beer websites for this vintage. Muddy brown pour with a rocky tan head. Aroma of brown sugar, green raisin, and toffee malt. Really nice flavor reminiscent of a Belgian Quad; caramel, candi sugar, cherry juice, raisin, and booze. Warm finish. Exceeded my expectations!

UPDATED: MAR 14, 2022 12oz bottle from Sonoma Cellars in Oconomowoc with a bottle date of almost 3 years ago, cellared for just over 2 years, and served colder than refrigerator temperature. Pours copper amber with no head. Aroma is certainly vineous; port, brown sugar and strong malts. Taste has strong sweet malts, quite dry, with alcohol, brown sugar, raisins, candied fruits, and alcohol. Medium to full bodied, with alcohol, the blend is good-to-very-good. Big strong sweet and alcoholly finish. This is a sipper, a solidly nice barleywine. 15.2

UPDATED: JAN 10, 2022 (Thanks, Jim! 'ozzy70') Bottle. A- Malty, booze, raisins, brown sugar. A- Dark mahogany color, clear liquid, off white head. T- Raisins, malt, booze, sweet, sugary. P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, boozy finish. O- Vintage 2019. 3 years of age almost to the day. Wanted to keep cellaring but it felt like it was time to drink. Loads upon loads of raisins and malt. Definitely boozy but still doesn't feel 19%. A great beer in it's own right but a bit too much for me to give it a 5 star review.

UPDATED: JUN 9, 2021 Bottle at James's. Pours deep ruby brown, nose is caramel, toffee, raisin, sugary, taste is similar, juicy, sweet, sherry.

UPDATED: JUN 7, 2021 Bottle thanks to the cellar of cgarvieuk. Appearance - dark brown with a low carbonation. Nose - caramel, raisins, hazelnuts and creamy milk chocolate. Taste - sherry, hazelnuts, caramel and creamy chocolate. Palate - medium bodied. Not as boozy as expected. Overall - lovely.

UPDATED: JUN 7, 2021 Bottle thanks to cgarvieuk. Pours clear dark amber with no real head. Aromas of raisins, toffee, honeycomb, spice. Taste is boozy, dried fruit, prunes, something oaky. Fruitcake. Like a sherry really. Lovely.

UPDATED: SEP 20, 2020 12 oz. bottle. I cellared this for 18 months after purchasing it online. 2018 release. Deep amber, caramel appearance. Dense, vinous textures. Carbonation began strong and then gave way to heavy sediments from top to bottom of my DFH glassware. Only a faint white ring of foam. Nose of wine, brown sugar, prune, raisin and dark fruits. Aromatic notes are all in play but at times the alcohol can drown it out. First sip is heavy malt, brown sugar, molasses, raisins and all forms of dark fruit. Deeply warming and strong alcohol burn should caution one to sip only. Aftertaste gives way to a lot of alcohol heat. There is a special beer in here if you can isolate it from the high ABV. Good fruit and malt character. Sweetness is counterbalanced by the sheer strength of the brew. Ideal for sipping and pairing with red salted meat. You really wouldn't want to drink something like this without a food pairing to balance it. It can be tempting to start gulping it down but beware for it will make you pay. A smooth and luxurious pour similar to a dessert wine in its function. Sediments remained visible in my glass even as I notched it down. Further aromatic inquiry on my part revealed more of that potent heat. Mouthfeel is runnier than what I expected. As I continue to sip I find more bold flavors of figs, prune, raisins and brown sugar. Gave me a great buzz about 5 minutes in. I recommend to sip this one at length to save yourself a headache later. In summary, this is an extreme beer. It is ideal for pairing with salted meats at dinner. If sippers are you thing, this one is mighty good. And it doesn't even have to be cold outside to enjoy. Just be ready to adjust your palate to this one. Because of its strength you won't enjoy it the same way you enjoy other beers. You can't just go chugging away; it forces you to pace yourself. There's a tremendous beer in here, if you have the discipline and patience of palate required to coax it out.

UPDATED: JUL 24, 2020 Bottle - 12/21/18: Can't believe I never rated this one before, one of my favorites, bought a case last time it was around. The aroma is figs/dates/raisin, some molasses and a sweetness. Pours a dark copper/brown with amber hues, reddish beige head mostly diminishing and good lacing. The taste is a sweet, dry then bitter. The body is full, the texture a soft creaminess, the carbonation lively, with a little bite and the finish sweet and long. Kicks your butt and tastes great doing it!

UPDATED: DEC 14, 2019 12 oz bottle. Pours a dull brown with no head. Huge raisin smells. Big sweet raisins and plums tastes, sweet with underlying alcohol warmth and bite. No carbonation. Oily mouthfeel. Big beer but lacks some refinement. Still nice effort.