3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
This was a gift. Poured a rich brown with a fat creamy head. Nose of rich malts, ripe fruit, and some chocolate. Rich creamy mouthfeel. Lots of flavor with carmel mats dominating. Very nice bitter finish.
4.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 20/20
Wow. This is what it’s all about. at 9.46 ABV this one is has all the gravity and thick malt sweetness of a barleywine. What really separates it is the use of dark malts. It has a rich creamy chocolate taste, which compliments the strong malty and hoppy overtones. Could be considered the first true dark barleywine. Absolutely recommended for strong beer afficionados. Superb stuff.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Pour is a very dark brown with a average white head. Aroma is all things pine hops with some dark roasted malts. Flavor is molasses with some pine hops, dark fruit and a dollop of alcohol. Oh the alcohol is in this one in a big way. The more it warms the more i can even smell it. Still this does have enough tasty things going on.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bomber. Pours very, very dark reddish brown with dense tan head. The aroma is very fruity-- tons of candied pineapple, some grapefruit, cherry, lime, and papaya. There are also milder scents of raisin and green wood. The flavor is very piney at first, and an assertive, darker woodiness follows quickly. The initial edge wears off soon and a maltiness reminiscent of molasses and ultra-bitter chocolate moves through the middle of the mouth. Some fruitiness pops out here and there, usually in the form of pineapple or grapefruit. The finish is somewhat dry and woody with a peanut-shell tone to it. Dry nuttiness lingers in the aftertaste. Pretty good brew.
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Pours with a deep amber-brown body topped by a medium thick, tan head with lots of lacing. It’s slightly sweet yet bitter with notes of butterscotch and spice as well as alcohol. Meidum to full bodied and warm going down.
3.6 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Nice American strong. A little too sweet for my tastes, but not bad. Seems this style is over hoppy and hot, or extremely sweet and this falls under the latter. Aroma of roasted malt and caramel. Pour was near perfect. An inviting dark brown with a beautiful 3 finger light tan head. Taste was sweet-molasses and roastiness in the front...sugary and malt notes. NIce semi dry finish with just a tad of hops that peek out. Nice complex brew...a little less sweet and could’ve been close to a 4 with me. Hides the alcohol well.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
(Bottle) Pours a dark reddish brown colour with a creamy off white head. The aroma is a strange mix of grapefruit/herbal/resin like hops, spices like white pepper and cinnamon, fruity with canned pineapples and dried bananas, dark fruits like plums and raisins, some tart berries and malty tones of caramel, chocolate and nuts. Hints of celery, nettles and cucumber. The flavour is spicy, fruity, hoppy and malty. Chocolaty, caramelly some grapefruit and oranges, bananas and cinnamon. The mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, soft and a bit numbing from the hops. Medium sweet and light to medium bitter. Medium to full bodied. Very malty with a little bit of everything, strange.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
I kinda liked this one. Dark, not quite opaque, purplish color, in the porter vein, with dark nutty and chocolatey malts. But this beer was about the hops, a piney and grapefruity aroma, and a big resiny flavor leading to a certain bitter finish. Dry. Pleasing. I like how caramelized malts were not over-used, and this beer thus avoided the trap of an overly thick and resinous mouthfeel, while still combining the best features of hops and dark malts.
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