Barrel Aged Series: Barley Wine 2015
Parallel 49 Brewing Company

Pours chestnut brown with lighter amber notes around the edges. Topped by a creamy tan head with good retention. Aroma is surprising because there is some funk and sourness. The beer was barrel aged so its could obviously be from the barrel but it would be nice if this was noted on the bottle. Aroma also includes sour cherry, plum, and a touch of vanilla. Taste starts funky with a moderately strong wood character which becomes stronger as the beer warms. That is followed by a touch of sour cherry, some peach and plum, as well as some sweet brown sugar notes. Finishes dry with the sourness and the wood coating the mouth. This is a full bodied beer - definitely a sipper - although there is no alcohol heat despite the 11.8% ABV. This is a very interesting beer and is certainly different from many of the other barleywines on the market and it is surprising there is not effort to denote these differences on the bottle.