Celebration Ale
Broad Ripple Brew Pub

a tasty and pretty classic tasting barleywine here, brewed for their 25th anniversary and shared with me kindly by a good friend. the beer is caramel to butterscotch in color, light for the style, and not particularly weighty for how strong it is. a nice white fluffy head over an inch high rests on top. the aroma is sweet like toffee, with the english ale yeast adding a bready element in behind, not overly developed or complex, but with a cool chestnut earthy quality to it, and a freshness despite it having a little age on it. the flavor is more of the same, a sweet syrupy malt base with all the stereotypical english grain flavors but less of the body. seems a little thin for the style, but the flavors are great, quite sweet like a liquid werthers original candy, with a bready component to it as well. light feeling and nicely carbonated, more than is common in these normally, finishes quickly too as they go, especially for being a little sweet. this is my first beer from these guys, and it seems appropriate for their milestone anniversary celebration, but it lacks the depth and complexity i like in the best of these. still, tasty and well made.