Periodic Motion
Fonta Flora Brewery

Super dark brown pour with a beige cap. Getting aromas of barley and bourbon leading, dark yeast, caramel and molasses supporting. Taste adds dark cocoa, limited dried dark fruit. It is good but not very dynamic with the barrel interactions. Feel reflects this with how cool it is on the palate, though very smooth and well made.

 

Batch 2 Feb. 2022

I get a strong, charred, smokey molasses that I'm liking a lot. There's also some toffee, fig, and raisin, all dripping with that molasses note. The heat isn't shy, it's biting with plenty of whiskey, but it is well incorporated. The body is sticky and full, gently carbonated.

Love the beer but not the large format, waxed bottle. Turns out they ship to PA, if they package offerings like this sensibly I'll place an order for sure.

Pours a dark brown with a burgundy tint. Head foamed up to two fingers after a moderately heavy pour straight into the glass.

Aroma is raisins, fig, toffee, and hearty herbal, resiny, and earthy hops. Those hop notes really pull the sweetness off the front. Subtle caramel and barrel round it out. Complexity shifts from semi-sweet to more hop and earth heavy as the beer warms.

Flavor profile draws upon the same notes, but arranged in a more symmetrical and beneficial pattern. It hits notes of herbal, resiny, and earthy hops between fig, raisins, and toffee. While the aroma isn't sugary sweet, the flavor profile carries a little more of this typical barleywine sweetness, without being cavity inducing. Bourbon and barrel adhere to the back, adding some soft heat to the finish. Fragments of vanilla and caramel come through throughout. Some heat comes through in the final third, particularly as this beer warms, but is not a show stopper.

Mouth feel is medium-thick in thickness with a fuzzy, unaltered texture. It has some of that flat, heavy texture of an oily glass of high proof bourbon.

Overall, it took some thinking to really appreciate this one. It doesn't hit the typical sweet notes of a barleywine, instead leaning into sticky and earthy hops. While all of these beers should be served as cellar temperatures, it really holds true to appreciate this example. To improve as it warms indicates a barleywine well-done.

Served in a 15.5oz Spiegelau tulip from a 750mL bottle.

 

 

Appearance: Pours coffee colored with a thin beige head that quickly fades to a ringlet; leggy, with speckles of lace sticking

Smell: Slightly burnt caramel, dark fruit and Bourbon prominent; oaky with a hint of vanilla

Taste: Raisin, date and caramel forward with the Bourbon adding a subtle wrap; oaky with a touch of vanilla, after the swallow

Mouthfeel: Full bodied verging on thick; low carbonation; slight warmth in the gullet

Overall: This is an excellent Barleywine that integrates the various elements in a balanced fashion