Birthdaywine [10]
Fonta Flora Brewery

Nectar at 2 years old!

Cellared a year. Opaque leather brown with tan cap that settles into a large collar, dotted lazy lacing. Smells of those wine barrels right away, big aged wood, grape must, caramel, and barley. Taste has vanillins joining the vinous barrels, grape is fruitier, wood is less rustic, the finishing toffee, raisins, barley and wine is very rewarding. Feel is boozy and lighter bodied, smooth and clean. Fun unique barrel treatment to a classic barleywine

 

Bottled October 2023, batch 1

While I was a bit underwhelmed with Fonta Flora’s 10th anniversary Stout, this one sounds very interesting. A Barleywine aged in two different kinds of wine barrels is not something you see often, and I’m excited to try it. Let’s crack it open and get into it

Pours an opaque medium brown with a finger of creamy light biege head that slowly fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

The nose is quite sweet, but the fruity notes add a nice complexity to it. I'm picking up on aromas of caramel, smooth oak, red grape, jammy blackberry, smoky tobacco, dark bread, old leather, black cherry, toasted walnut, light toffee, and cola

It's even sweeter in taste, but not overly so. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting tannic red wine, sweet caramel, brown bread, vanilla bean, smooth oak, cocoa powder, black cherry, burnt sugar, and light leafy hops. The swallow brings notes of toasted oak, tannic red wine, cherry pit, jammy blackberry, vanilla bean, burnt sugar, toasted walnut, smoky tobacco, cocoa powder, and light cola

A medium full body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a slick beer. Finishes a touch sticky but dries out quickly

This one is super fun. The wine barrel aging adds a funk to it that keeps things from getting too sweet

I would have loved to had this beer on draft. Purchased a bottle of this beer at a very nice beer shop in Asheville.

Poured into a tulip glass. Dark, clear slightly reddish brown color with very nice initial head and lacing. Smell and taste of fine caramel and toffee. A bit of oak and birch. Smooth, warming, comforting. Layered with dark fruit and a hint of funk. Cordial cherry and rich red wine. Always thankful for a good barleywine!

11/11/23 draft @ The Whale