UPDATED: OCT 2, 2021 Bottle. Cloudy, brown with a very small head. Aroma is a malty with hints of toffee and brown sugar. Taste is more hoppy then I expected.

UPDATED: JUL 9, 2020 Barleywine brewed with New Zealand malts, Australian hops and English yeast, and aged on barrels made of French oak… Comes from a 37.5 cl bottle with crown cap. Quite dense and creamy, pale yellowish beige, mousy head lacing in dots over an initially clear, deep copper-red bronze beer, turning misty with sediment. Aroma of ground hazelnuts, walnut liqueur, strong furniture-like oak wood including a whiff of something vanilla-like, bergamot, brown bread, toffee, grapefruit pith, patchouli, dried orange peel, dried fig, cranberries, brandy, burnt sugar, tea leaves. Sweetish onset with a slight umami accent, hints of dried fig, cranberries and persimmon, quite softly carbonated, full and soft, eventually moderately vinous mouthfeel. Dry-caramelly, brown-bready and lightly toasty-bitter maltiness, the sweetness more and more replaced by bitterness towards the end as a firm dose of grapefruit peel- and peppercorn-like hop bitterness sets in, connecting with the toasty side of the malts. Meanwhile a drying oak woodiness adds further dryness to the finish, whilst breathing that lovely vanilla-tinged oak aroma retronasally; lingering caramelly malt sweetness in the end amidst all that tannic and bitter dryness, but a rather wry, whisky-like booziness eventually gets the upper hand. Too much so for my personal liking, this should absolutely be controlled better, but otherwise this is a rich, deep, warming sipper with a very firm dosage of hop bitterness justifying its ‘American style barleywine’ ambitions. Interesting one that merits the benefit of the doubt: had I kept it for some years, I think the alcohol wryness may have softened. Curiosity got the better of me, I guess – again.

UPDATED: MAY 8, 2020 A 500ml bottle, 2016 vintage, with a best before date of 14th December 2019, however I believe it’s still good. Poured into a snifter glass. It was a dark orange brown colour with a thin half finger beige head that had decent retention but left only sparse spotty lacing. Aromas hoppy, herbal, sweet dried fruit, caramel malt, raisin, coconut and oak. Tastes sweet, herbal, medicinal, pine hoppy, dried stone fruit, dried coconut, oak, caramel malt, with a bittersweet finish. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation. Overall an enjoyable sipping barleywine with nice aroma and flavours.

UPDATED: JAN 28, 2020 Bottle bought from Brewklopedia, consumed at home. Chocolate brown, transparent, with a small film of beige head. Oak chips, molasses, medicinal herbal notes, a bit of peat and some Dettol. Sweet taste full of brown sugar lasts a split second before a dry, herbal, woody, medicinal bitterness sets in. Intense and uncompromising with notes of horehound in the finish. Body is thin for the ABV. Good but not a match for the best barley wines.

UPDATED: JAN 23, 2021 Restrained aroma in a red-brown pour. Rich Christmas pudding body with a hint of brandy in the finish. Dangerously delicious.

UPDATED: NOV 5, 2019 500ml bottle, bought sometime in 2017. Slightly hazy brown with a beige head, quite well retained. Aroma is quite hoppy, malt, caramel, dried fruits, oak. Taste is the same, hoppy to start but with big malt character, caramel, dried fruits, raisin, oak notes, spices, bittersweet. Medium body, so well balanced. Outstanding barley wine.

UPDATED: SEP 18, 2019 Beautiful Barley Wine! Very strong aromas and complex flavour, but everything was in perfect balance. The oak character added a nice touch to an already delicious concoction of malt, caramel, stone fruit, molasses and herbs. Wish I could find it again!

UPDATED: SEP 16, 2019 Sample@Ølfestival København 2018. A hazy brown coloured beer with a beige head. Aroma and flavour of malt, caramel, molasses, alcohol, dried fruit, wood and sweetness.

28Jul2019 Intense molasses, sweet oak, bourbon, toffee. Hazy brown, small, creamy, beige head. Light bitter. Bitter sweet caramel, molasses, toasted malts, burnt oak, grass, bourbon, soft carbonation, full bodied. Outstanding, sweet aroma, balancing palate. Bottle from HonestBrew.

UPDATED: JUL 11, 2019 Bottle sample at a tasting at Tom L's place. Thanks zvsn. Deep amber. Stale hops, malt, caramel, some fruitiness, alcohol, sweet, a bit umami, boozy, medium-bodied.