All My Friends Were There
Grimm Artisanal Ales

Pours a deep walnut color with a cinnamon edge. Slight khaki colored head develops a thin layer, sticks around for a spell, before settling in at a soapy ring. Slight lacing.
Nose brings a cornucopia of malty and fruity notes: dates, figs, toffee, brown sugar, apple brandy, and floral honey.
Taste follows the nose. This is a true sipper. I'm glad I had some quiet time with the wife to share this. We really had a nice time delving in with so much variety being revealed as we progressed. The initial notes were a medley of the traditional malt notes for a barleywine with the barrel notes woven in, layer by layer.
Mouthfeel was a tad thick for style which I am fine with.

Poured syrupy-looking and a murky chestnut wood stain color. A few bubbles tried to form but it looks essentially flat, but there are some microbubbles at the edge. The liquid absolutely sheets the glass.

The nose is wonderful. Sweet bready malts, toffee and brown sugar, molasses, honey, dark sweet cherry, fig/date, apple. There's a very faint spice note.

Oh my...what a great random grab! This is silky- smooth with very nicely integrated flavors. There is enough barrel to notice - kind of a woody vanilla/buttery flavor. Apple brandy, then some sweet cherry, figs, and date come through. I get some toffee and brown sugar pushing towards molasses, a little nuttiness and crusty baked bread. A light honey flavor peeks through here and there. There's a bit of raisin and plum. Earthiness grounds the experience. In the aromatics I get a light thyme flavor and just a bit of lavender, thank you East Kent Goldings.

It's minimally carbonated. Full-bodied and creamy. The sweet fruits linger. Slightly sticky and VERY pleasantly warming. No obvious sign of the 13%. It's sweet but not obnoxiously so - it's just right.

Overall this is a real treat. Fantastic, skillfully concocted brew! I'd buy this again in a heartbeat.

 

500 ml bottle into a tulip snifter. Had 7/13/25.

Pours a semi opaque dark ruby color, with a brief head and light foamy specks of cling. Aromas of apple brandy, caramel, fig, brown sugar, oak, light rum, light raisin and oak, a little cherry. Mostly similar flavors: apple brandy, fig, caramel, malt, brown sugar, light oak, a little rum and raisin. Smooth, a very good medium body, appropriately carbonated.

The apple brandy barrels are prominent, to go along with big notes of caramel, fig and brown sugar. The rum barrels are understated, but effective. Different and kind of unique. Really enjoyed this one.

Poured from a 500mL into a Pulpit Rock minisnifter. Pours a deep ruby to chestnut with hardly any foam head. Sweet on the nose with some unidentifiable spirit barrel presence. Tastes follows but also has some wet cardboard to it. Medium-full mouthfeel. Not bad. Not a flavor explosion of any sorts but also nothing offensive. Solid enough.

Opaque dark brown pour with a ring of tan foam. Sugary rum, and brandy with an earthy and caramel barley in the nose. Taste was a lot the same only instead of sugary it’s just sweet. A little bit more booze on the finish, the rum and apple brandy give this candied fruit cake flavor that leaves an impression. Feel is lighter, but thicker, boozy and sugars add up and tax the palate a bit but it is unique

Pours a light fizzy tan head with low retention, a little lacing, dark mahogany deep brown color

Nose is quite nice, sweet malts, caramel, toffee, toasted sweet bread crust, molasses, hints of dark fruits like cherry fig, nice vanilla barrel notes and a little brandy

Taste brings the vanilla buttery oak up front, rich vanilla, sweet whiskey or brandy like barrel juice, into toasted biscuity malts, rich bread crust, caramel, toffee, a bit nutty, candied apple, a little raisin and dried cherry, smooth perfumey alcohol notes, hint of bitter spicy hops, semi sweet sticky finish, more cherry, plum, fig lingering with the sweet flavors

Mouth is fuller bod, med to a tad lower creamy carb, light warming smooth alcohol

Overall very nice, it's quite tasty as is and not sure how well it would age, but maybe I'll get a couple to age