Barley Wine
Luminous Brewhouse

really cool beer from a really cool place. much much darker in both color and grain character than most barleywines, and not really fitting neatly into either the american or the english style very well, but being better off for it. its deep deep amber, almost brown, with even darker lowlights around the edges, and not much head after a minutes. there is roasted barley or at least a deeply toasted malt in here for sure, a rustic almost campfire dark grain thing is the first element i smell, and then the booze, hiding toffee and dried raisin or cherry undertones with hints of maple syrup and molasses in there as well. complex as the nose is, the taste is even more so. its everything i smell, with the grain leading the way as it should, but so different than its peers with this darker side of things. its relatively hoppy, but only enough to balance out the residual sugar, which is only moderate for a barleywine. its hard to place the yeast too, something high gravity no doubt, but to say its english would be a stretch. it almost has a lagered feel to it. crisp is not a word i have used to describe barleywine before, but its applicable here, like a baltic barleywine or something, this beer really pushes the envelope. not real carbonated but i dont miss it. maybe my favorite of a whole handful of excellent beers i had on my visit here. definitely make a stop if you a cruising through northern wyoming!