Deep ruby brown color with light head. Very sweet and acidic palate with black curant and dark cherry aromas. The finish is bitter with a gentle coffee bite and malt mixture similar to all other dark Library brews.

<b>2007.</b> This year finds the beer in a similar vein to 2006. There’s a good amount of chocolate malt remaining in the beer, and giving it a certain turbid cocoa powder quality. Light tanginess arises from malt and yeast signatures. Likely the most mellowed and least alcoholic tasting of the batches. Gives a lightly aged vibe, which is nice. This seems to blend the chocolate-malt influenced bill with the dry hopping. Definite and certain move of spicy English hop carry through the finish with some Hot Chocolate characters. Bright high-quality fruit profile much diminished in this version. Not really digging this one all that much, unfortunately. 3.7 <br /><br /><b>2006.</b> A deeper darker rendition. Apparently with twice as much chocolate malt in at as the 2005. This really shows through in a nice sweet cocoa flavor, that melds well with the other bright estery fruits of the incredible malts. The addition of more chocolate malt, definately brought this closer to an Impy/B-wine hybird, but without roastiness this stays a phenomenal barleywine. 4.0 <br /><br /><b>2005.</b> Deep rich murky dark burnt brown pour, with fully diminished head. Very still. STRONG apricot and cherry aroma. Wow! Very alcoholic. Strong flavors of abbey fruitcake and oranges simmered in spices. Unfortunately this potent brew is somewhat one dimensional, lacking much hops or malt flavors, except in the finish. This is like no other Barleywine I’ve had. The beer is aged in keg for a full year, before release. A recent try again of 2005, leaves this one slightly less interesting. I appreciate the interesting mingling of this beer’s style as somewhere between an imperial stout and barleywine, but the same grain bill as all their other beers, make this less desirable and lacking a total completeness to be my favorite barleywine. 4.4 <br /><br /><b>2003.</b> How exciting! Vintage handbottles poured by the brewer himself. This is, as the brewer said, a totally different beast. No chocolate malt and dry hopped in the keg for an entire year. A little still, being bottled off the keg without yeast. However, this is so traditionally a classically malted English barleywine. The lovely lingering clean hop smack lords over the relishing sweet candied fruits is absolute sublime heaven. No signs of oxidation. What an opportunity. 4.2 <br /><br />Overall, in the end, I find myself wanting the 2005 level of chocolate malt, combined with the excellent malt quality and dry hopping of 2003. 2005 remains my favored, as the most delicate, nuanced, balanced and enjoyable of the vintages.