Kuhnhenn Big N Bold Barley Wine

12oz bottle, via goryshkewych. Pours a dark amber body with a small fizzy quickly fading off-white head. Heavy caramel and toffee maltiness in the nose with a big alcohol background. Hints of dark brown sugar, moist tobacco, and vanilla. Big sweet malt body with slightly acidic citrusy kick, there’s lots of dark brown sugar, plum and sour cherry fruitiness, and heavy alcohol. This is certainly unique. I think that this could benefit from some long term aging to develop some sherry like oxidation complexity. Notes of raisin, tangerine rind, and citrusy hops. Mouthfeel is full and hearty with perfect soft pinpoint carbonation. A good bit of warmth on the finish. Surprisingly drinkable at this ABV, it never gets too sweet or cloying because of the citrusy hops. I think that this is a good bit underrated.

12oz bottle--forgive me, I don’t remember who I got this from. Clear reddish copper with a small beige head, fading to a thin ring rather quickly--no film or anything else. Citrus tang and scorched caramel up front, with some raisins, dried cherries, brown sugar, and spicy alcohol in the background. Also a bit of tobacco. No sign of the infection that people are talking about. Flavor does have some cherry tartness, but still plenty of raisins, scorched caramel, and brown sugar. Spicy hops and alcohol help this from getting too dry. This beer does show its strength. Bitterness peaked at a 2--not the medium to high bitterness the description claims.Full body with minimal carbonation. One of the more tangy barleywines I’ve had, but not near as bad as the last few ratings.

From a 12oz Bottle. After taking one sip, I decided to donate the rest of my bottle to a craft brew malt vinegar experiment, the thought being that the infection might lend a more enjoyable layer of depth and complexity when found in malt vinegar. The residual sugars might also help with that too, as they should provide plenty of nutrients and sugar content to feed the vinegar culture throughout the aging process. Good thing this wasn’t a limited special release so I didn’t have the opportunity to be even more disappointed.

Bottle courtesy of polomagnifico...THANKS RYAN!!! So, I can see why this one was retired. Zero head with a dark coppery brown body. Aroma is extremely sour and exhibits hints of fig, raisin, and date. Flavor is all tart cherries...can’t find the "strong malt flavor" they describe. Maybe a misprint. Not a favorite but still glad I had a chance to try this rarity!!!

12oz bottle shared courtesy of TomDecapolis. Poured deeper and cloudy brownish color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, raisins, vanilla, other dark and fruitiness. Very nice aroma, looked forward to the tastes and then, wham, tastes of sour and tart cherries with some caramel. The tart/sour cherries domininated.