White Peak Extra Strong
Staffordshire Brewery

A: Hazy, golden-bronze, good retention, some lace.

S: Pear cider, candied pineapple, orange rind & toffee.

T: Pear, candied pineapple, toffee, biscuit, orange rind and a hint of tartness (presumably from the wheat). A bit like a dried out old ale.

M: Moderate body is smooth with a slight acidity.

D: Certainly intriguing.

Thanks to bobsy for opening this up at the insane barleywine tasting.

Pours a hazy yellow, thick white head forms, quickly drops down to a thin layer and ring around the glass, no real lacing.

Smell is neat, very fruity, citrus, grapefruit and orange peel like an IPA, sweet malty middle, caramel, some honey, almost mead like, pretty cool.

Taste is similar, very hoppy, wheat, caramel, honey, not a lot of malt character, really geared towards hops, grapefruit and orange, solid bitterness.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with medium to high carbonation. A bit of a weird one, an English barleywine thats hoppier than a lot of IPA's. As stated by bobsy, not really to style but still pretty enjoyable. Thanks Rob!

I brought this bottle back from England, and shared it with a few guys at a barleywine tasting we did. Pours a slightly hazy light orange with a small white head that dropped to a collar. The nose is a little weird, with strong notes of straw, grass and tree fruit. It almost Belgian-esque. For an English barleywine this has an impressive amount of hopping, and my tongue is telling me grapefruit. Mangoes, pears and vinous notes provide a pleasant fruitiness, while brown sugar notes halp balance the bitterness. Medium bodied with a soft carbonation works nicely.

This was a strange duck and not really true to the style, but I did enjoy it and was glad to try.