Aaron
Hill Farmstead Brewery

 

 

 

 

2016 bottling.

 

 

 

Bottle generously shared by Seth. Dark brown pour with a kaki head. Big booze and caramel malt aromas. Big booze, caramel malts, and dark fruit highlights. Wow, this is fantastic. Mild oak and vanilla sub tones. Complex with a great body and mouthfeel. An incredible example of this style.....

 

 

 

 

 

DLD - 5/18/2019

 

 

 

 

Vintage 2016, Bottled July 2018, Drank March 2021

Look - Dark, reddish brown. Minimal to no head

Smell - Sweet, with notes of Toffee, brown sugar, & raisins

Taste - Toffee, Rasin, Tobacco, a hint of chocolate and a finish of bourbon barrel. Sweet and smooth with minimal alcohol burn. Medium carbonation

Feel - Creamy and thick

Overall - Really impressed, and this was a real treat. I have not had a lot of barleywines, but certainly everything in the future will be compared to this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage: 2016

Appearance: Pours mahogany with a one finger beige head; dots and a few streaks

Smell: Dark fruit (plum, cherry, and raisin) with toffee and Bourbon tones

Taste: Toffee foward with the plum, raisin and, in particular, cherry emerging; there is an unusual herbal tone that is also in the mix; hints of Bourbon barrel, through the middle), with the sweeter fruit tones driving home the finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation; a touch of warmth in the gullet

Overall: I get the reputation of Hill Farmstead and I have had some very good beers from them; I just don't think this is a top notch English barleywine; I like the dark fruit element (and that is creative) but this needs some hop tones to balance the sweetness - not American over the top hops; just some English hops and toffee to be more authentic to the style

 

 

 

It's finally about to happen... Years I've dreamed about this bottle. Years it has eluded me. Now, on my birthday evening, I'm staring face-to-face with Aaron - preparing to crack him open.

I'm ready

2015 Vintage - Bottled May, 2017 - poured into a shifter at 45°F.

Pours out with a glug, glug, glug, sitting a ruddy, rusty red-brown hue - cloudy, but does let some light in. A partial loose tan head bubbles, before quickly dissipating to a thin tan collar. 4.5

Nose: As soon as the cap came off, the aroma filled the room. English barleywine to a T. Sweet malt, raisins, toffee, brown sugar, caramel, Werther's Originals, leather, varnish, maple, cherry wood, pecan, maraschino cherries, candied dates, black grape, prune, and a kiss of molasses, all wrapped up into splintery white oak, with a beautiful bourbon presence, lending vanilla, and more caramel. A whisper of roast, some musty old rackhouse, and age. Time. Maturity. 4.5

Palate: Aaron greets the palate with a big sweet hug of toffee, caramel, date, dried fig, dried cherry, raisin, vanilla, plum, pecan, and maple. Rich, decadent, and bold, yet not cloying, as a second wave with oak, bourbon, and tons of dark fruit washes in and cuts into the sweetness. The dark fruit is very prominent, lending a subtle fruity tart kiss, which is crucial to providing balance. A round, malty nuttiness follows, with pecan, walnut, and that almost fatty element to them. The woody oak presence grows, and with it, some malted milk, vanilla creme, and just a dusting of cocoa, before the bourbon finally emerges, flowing into the finish - dry now, with splintery white oak and just a shadow of barrel char.

Mouthfeel/Body: This is near-perfection. Aaron is rich, luscious, smooth, thick, and a bit viscous, yet avoids ever being syrupy, cloying, or overbearing. The oak and dark fruit brightness cut in just enough to thin it out, and the 9% ABV ensures it isn't pure glue, but worlds away from thin. Restrained, but respectable effervescence for the age, size, and style, and finishes with an incredible oaky dryness.

Overall: Aaron is the number one rated English barleywine on BeerAdvocate, and for good reason - however, this goes beyond superficial ratings. Hill Farmstead instills magic in all of their hoppy and farmhouse ales, and Aaron is no exception. It's a beer with an identity, from a brewery with an identity. I'm not sure you could brew a better English barleywine if you tried. Yes, Aaron is hard to get, but if you can get him fairly, you'll be rewarded.

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a dark raisin brown. Raisins and salted nuts on the nose. It's incredibly smooth. There's alcohol there, but not in a hot way. Lots of dried fruit and nuts. Getting raisins and prunes, as well as some almonds. The high alcohol content of a barleywine prevents me from drinking more of them, but I also not all barleywines are Aaron.