UPDATED: DEC 12, 2022 On tap at Free State, pours a clear dark amber with a small beige head. Aroma brings out big sticky caramel malts, bready malt, and resinous hops in the background. Flavour is rich, with a really good balance of caramel malts, some resins, and bready malt. Certainly on the sweet side, but it’s got good hops too. Balanced and reasonably complex. There would’ve been a time where this was one of the best in the country. While still great, it kind of pales in comparison to the higher bar being set now elsewhere. Still, glad I got to finally try this.

UPDATED: JUN 10, 2022 From a 12 oz bottle. Pours a mostly clear mahogany. Aromas of caramel and toffee. Flavors are sweet raisins and caramel. Smooth and robust. Nice one.

Refrigerated 12 oz. brown bottle from RobertDale poured into a glass. Hazy brownish red with off-white head. Aroma is bread, medium body, lower carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is bread, malt, some anise, and a little fruit.

Dark red brown with a tan head. Aroma is dark fruits, pine, brown sugar and barley. Taste is heavy sweet and light bitter. Palate is sticky with average carbonation.

UPDATED: JAN 2, 2018 Fully depends on the year. Last one I had was from 2016 (I think) and it was undrinkably sweet. Prior years had been awesome, though.

Pours a dark copper with off white head. Malty forward aroma, sweet. Flavor is malt forward as well, but roasty and not overly sweet, well balanced. A nice barleywine. Note: Westport Strong Ale Fest '17

Pours a dark brown with minimal head. Nose is funky - some malt and chocolate, but a bit of an odd smell, too. Taste is awesome, though - some bourbon, black licorice, coffee. Chewy mouthfeel - almost like food. Good stuff. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

I didn't get the burbon taste at all. Strong toffee taste. Just a little bit of a head. Tried this because i was told it was a very popular beer. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Free State’s Old Backus is a malt bomb with lots of class. It pours brown. It has a nose that leans heavily toward toasted malt sugar - brown sugar, caramel, and cooked fruit. Caramel, molasses, butterscotch, vanilla, chocolate, stone fruits, and dark fruits make up the flavor profile. While this definitely leans more toward the English malt-forward style, you still get some zesty hops toward the finish. Gorgeous stuff.

6 oz pour from chilled bottle into sniffer. Deep burnt orange, opaque, weak off-white head. Nose of plum, stone fruit, raisin, a little apricot, caramelization. Body is syrupy, thick, a little carbonation on the finish. Taste is sweet, molasses, malty, raisin a little lingering boozy-burn on the finish.