UPDATED: MAR 19, 2022 Foil-capped 12oz bottle from SH a long ass time ago. 361/500. 2011 it seems from cross reference. Waited in line at like 4:30am in the butt ass cold to buy my allotment & drink at the bar just a few hours later. Mojito glass @home. Super cloudy, yeasty, messy, but with a nice ring of lace. Smell is supremely malty, starchy, sweet, fruity-sharp. Strong. Smell is subjective. Starchy, toasted malt, chocolate chip cookies, oily, sharp cherry wood, wheat, tobacco, lingering cheerios, well integrated oxidation. Lots of cookies. Still not dry. Thick, frothy, rustic, strong for just 11%. I don't mind it, it is tasty & has stabilized quite well. I just want to drink a nip & be done though. If I were a fan of the style this would be higher.

UPDATED: FEB 8, 2020 2011 12oz bottle. Pours a cloudy burnt orange color and topped by a small off white layer of foam that fades away quickly to the body below. The aroma shows notes of citrus and dark fruits with plum, raisins, and toasted caramel up front and backed up by the toffee malts and some oxidation with some citrus bitterness. The flavor follows suit with the citrus and dark fruits of plums, raisins, and grapefruit up front and backed up by the burnt caramel malts, oxidation, and a light bitterness on the back end. Full bodied and smooth with average carbonation that leads to a slightly bitter sweet, citrus, burnt caramel, and dark fruit on the finish with some lingering warmth from the alcohol. Held up really well for being 9 years old. The oxidation is there, but all the other flavors still pop for being so old. Really tasty barleywine that I would have liked to see how it was fresher.

From Dec 2006 2004 Vintage Poured from 12oz bottle(room temp) a clear reddish gold with a large head of foam that eases back some but remains as a solid layer throughout the session. Oh, and there's plenty of lacing. The smell has a huge nose of caramel malt with some hoppiness in the background. The taste is very sweet up front. Nice caramel and butterscotch followed closely by some some hop bitterness and a good sour fruit bitterness. Very complex and very warming! A good one to drink on this cold snowy day. The finish is semi sweet and something that ends the flavours in a positive way. A great sipper, I doubt I could drink another one of these right away but that's not saying anything negative about it. I want to stretch this glass out. ;^) Bottom line: I've held on to this bottle for a while now and it's quite the treat. I got a 2005 bottle waiting for me..maybe later today. Thanks to Nutbrown for providing both bottles in a past trade!

Bottle, rated February 2016. Hazy red with off white head. Roma of raisins and dates. Sweet flavour of Daim chocolate. Ummmm....

Bottled in 2005, embibed 2014.(bottle #42 of 500). Exquisite. Pours hazy chestnut with visible particulate. Probably could have been decanted. Bottle foamed on opening. Big fluffy head that subsided to thin layer of what looked like cream. Nose - big but soft, complex; chocolate, dried dark fruit, plum pudding. Flavor - follows the aroma and add licorice, the real licorice, and cream. Palate - beautifully textured on the tongue without being syrupy. Flavors start creamy and builds to the more robust flavors, then becomes an ethereal but lingering reminder of what came before. Phenomenal that a nine - ten year old brew has so much character.

Bottle at a tasting in 2011 from notes. Pours a hazy orange/golden color with a small white head. The aroma and flavor has sweet caramel and brown sugar, a hint of tobacco, earthy notes and a slight hint of oxidation that promoted sherry notes. The alcohol is very well hidden which adds a point. This is the only time I’ve seen this beer, but would be interested in another taste.

2011 vintage, 12 oz. bottle, sent from javit (thanks a lot, Adam). Pours a beautiful dark mahogany with a small beige head. Nose is very malty, with dark fruits, caramel malts, some mild candied sugar, and an herbal note. Flavour has lots of caramel malt sweetness, some toffee, feint dark fruits and loads of booze - there is definitely a big boozy burn on the finish, along with lots of sweetness. Somehow the sweetness is contained by the intense heat, almost making two wrongs a right, except that the heat is too much. Low complexity, dominated mostly by caramel sweetness and booze. Perhaps age would settle this, though older reviews seemed to indicate the same thing, so I couldn’t be bothered waiting. Decent sipper.

Unclear amber body with a small offwhite head. Aroma is hops, fruit, caramel, spices. Flavor is caramel, fruit, dried fruit like apricots and pineapples, hops, pine needles, light alcohol. Nice lacings, well balanced. More like an iipa!

Tiny sample from bottle after a long tasting. This one had a reputation of being past it’s prime but It was still worth a go. Pours hazy brown orange. Small beige head and light lace. Aromas and taste were strong vanilla, slight oxidized rust, bread, apples, and spice. Plenty of carbonation. Not bad just overshadowed by the others brews that night.

Pours unclear amber in color with a decent light tan head. The aroma is light sweet malts typical of the style with a bit of the booziness there at the end. The flavor is not as huge as expected overwhelming in booze or sweet malts, the alcohol may have settled a bit over the year. It is palatable for sure with an ABV of 11.