12 oz bottle #458 of the 2006 vintage. Pours to a bright, deep amber color, with a thick, creamy, white head, and a moderate carbonation. The nose on this beer is just fantastic, with lots of big aromas citrus and pine, paried with the aromas of sweet malt, toffee, plum, dates, and peppery alcohol. The palate is slick and oily on the tongue. Big flavors of caramel, toffee, butterscotch, plum, and date coat the tongue. This beer finishes with more of those big malty and estery flavors up front, then ends with a warming, soothing, peppery burn that lingers along with some citrus/piney hops. The ultimate night cap, this is one fantastic barley wine. I grabbed the last two bottles at the Publick House, and regret I could not find more.

Equipment: 2003 vintage, bottle #88 of 500. 12 oz size, served at cellar temperature in a Trois Pistoles goblet. Appearance: Murky reddish orange topped by a short-lived and even shorter head. A light film of bubbles was all that was left after a minute or so. No lacing was left on the glass. Aroma: Quintessential barleywine nose. Incredibly aromas filled my nostrils from over a foot away. Intense hop and toasted malt aromas. A great amalgam of British and American interpretations of the style. Flavor: Strikingly bittersweet caramel and toasted malt flavors at first. The hops then kick in and pack a wallop, maybe too much of one, but that’s what aging is for. I’m thinkin it’s all C-hops bein used here: Cascades, Centennial, Chinook and maybe some Tomahawk for good measure. Wonderful stuff. Palate: Thick, buttery, and creamy with long lasting hop aftertastes and belches. Overall: Wow. this is some fine fine beer. I hope that I’ll be able to get another bottle of this someday. If I’d bought another one when I was in Brooklyn, wild horses would have had to drag me away from it.

Hope I’m reading my notes correctly - bottle #409 of 2004, much thanks to Casey (DYCSoccer17). Muddy blonde brown, moderate head. Strong, addictive, warm and savory caramel malt-laden aroma. Expertly infused with sharp citrus and evergreen. Flavor is much softer and insinuating than suggested by the aroma. Raw woody/nutty tobacco notes followed by a slight dollop of syrup and an exciting, pungent bitterness, hemmed in by another sheaf of citrus hoppiness. Fruity (peach/apricot) and slightly minty/cooling finish. A really fine beer.

This 12 oz. bottle (No. 194 of 500) of 2004 vintage Old Herb was sent by shippos as part of a BIF X-Mas package. The beer poured opaque orange in color with a couple of inch tall head sticking above the rim of the goblet. The head stuck around for a while and left a solid sheet of lace around the glass as it died. The aroma was sweet and strong, with grapefruit, pineapple, passion fruit, and honey mixed in with caramel, and raisins. The taste was similar to citric fruits in honey with some rinds creeping in. The malts were definitely accented in this beer with the hops being quite restrained. The alcohol was well covered up in the cascading sweetness. Mouthfeel was sticky and syrupy, and the aftertaste was nicely warming. Soft and mellow, I liked this beer a lot.

courtesy of fiulijn; 2005 vintage sampled 12/2007 - slightly hazy bordeaux colour, poor head; aroma of prune, licorice with a touch of alcohol and a strong hop presence; oily and full-bodied, powerful bitterness; dry and long bitter aftertaste of prune, herbs, pepper with notes of warming alcohol