A great red amber color greets the eyes. Beer produces a a very thin, dense, filmy head from the medium carbonation of the beer. Aroma has a great fruity notes with lots of malt and a very faint floral hops bitterness. The flavor combines a nice dark sugary fruit flavor with lots of malt sugars, lots of alcohol and a beer that is very heavy and smooth in the mouth. Overall a good choice if your craving a solid barley wine.

This is one of those beers that I see on the shelves from time to time, and for whatever reason, never got around to trying. 12 oz. bottle. Pours a hazy dark reddish brown with glowing ruby along the edges when held against the light. Thin-moderate off-white head that lasted through the first quarter of the glass and left a skim coating of film with each sip. Pleasant aroma of caramel and some alcohol. The flavor is caramel with just a bit of butterscotch and some alcohol. Mild bitterness at the finish. Somewhat buttery mouthfeel. Enjoyable!

[08 Bottle I assume... 8YU, whatever that means] Pours a lovely clear dark red with a slight brown hue and a very smooth silky thick beige fine layer of froth. I assume it’s an 08 bottle since I just bought it off the shelf, however the hops are already pretty oxidized and I can smell the malt coming around too. Rich caramel aroma, not overly sweet and a good amount of lightly oxidized hops with a bit of spice. Wow, this is high gravity, I always expect something light from Anchor, but this has a full mouthful, heavy, syrupy but well carbonated with very fine sparkling carbonation. I can tell this is going to age exceptionally! Fantastic flavor, great depth and exceptional balance. Lightly toasted malts, something very English. Nice caramel sweetness that is kept in check. The breadiness, like fresh sour-dough, is really unexpected but rather delicious. Very light burnt caramel in the finish with a nice piney hop bite. I love the way the alcohol warms off of those two elements. Very drinkable and light with all that sticky barley wine flavor. This is a fine brew, even with 1000+ ratings.

Pours an amber brown with almost no head. The head is a light gray color. It smells malty and sweet with a nice amount of hops. Tastes sweet like molasses, with a nice body, but a little thin. A miniscule amount of carbonation. Easy to drink for the style.

Bottle from 1999. Poured amber orange with not a lot of head. Aroma was sweet, dark fruits, and oak. Taste was dark fruits, malt and a nice sweet with a warming alcohol finish. Texture was nice and rolled down into my belly. Thanks Bruce for sharing.