Chaos Elixir
Foundation Brewing Company

Pours an effervescent ruddy orange/amber with a thumb+ of sandy colored head, falls away so fast. Turns a bit murky, no head retention or lacing

S: Tons of boozy barrel, plums, figs; all fade down stretch, but only a little

T: Follows the nose, dry with woody hops, figs, dates, raisins, hints of brandy up front. Boozy tangerine marmalade, figs, bourbon barrel, oakyness and treacle as this brute warms up. Finishes oaky with bourbon & orange blossom honey, plus figs & apricot jam, plus plenty of brown sugar

MF: Pretty chewy, moderate carbonation, super warming

Loved the flavor on this, really pushed the drinkability up for me; this one could wreck an evening to be sure. If it was all as good as the flavor...

Canned Winter 2022

I picked this guy up when me and my buddy went up to visit Allagash and the other breweries on the same street. The fact that they had 2 different Barleywines to go was enough for me to grab them. Bourbon and gin barrels huh? This should be an interesting one

Pours a cloudy brownish orange with a finger of off white head that quickly fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

The nose here reminds me of some of the cask versions of JW Lees Harvest, just lots of dark fruit. I’m picking up on aromas of black cherry, brown sugar, medjool dates, molasses, burnt caramel, port wine, toffee, sweet whiskey, and baked apple

Well the taste is quite the let down from the aroma, this is just overly sweet without the brighter notes of the fruit. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting sticky caramel, burnt sugar, raisin, sweet honey, bourbon, light oak, and baked apple. The swallow brings notes of sticky caramel, baked apple, orange marmalade, molasses, burnt sugar, sweet whiskey, and light toffee

A medium full body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a slick and sticky beer. Finishes sticky and overly sugary, really coating the mouth

The nose here showed so much promise at first, giving the impression of one of my favorite ever Barleywines, but the taste and mouthfeel take a complete nose dive unfortunately. It’s not awful, but unbearably sweet to get through

This one pours a murky brown-ish color, with a small head, and very little lacing.

This smells like super sweet candied caramel, port, berries, fruit syrup, maple, and brown sugar.

I really wanted to like this one, but there’s just so much dark fruit and cloying sugariness to this one. The barrel barely pokes through the sloppy base here – it’s just not all that enjoyable to sip on.

This is thick, syrupy, and too sweet, with a lower drinkability.

This should have been much better. I just do not enjoy this.

Sampling a cellar temp 12 oz can poured into my snifter. Picked these up at the brewery a few weeks ago. Can says barrel aged barleywine, but doesnt say anything about the type of barrel. The beer pours a fairly clear amber to golden color with dense eggshell white head foaming up about 1 cm. This foam fades to a thin edge layer soon after the pour. And this edging sticks around throughout the tasting. Very thin lacing after each swirl.
Aroma is sweet toffee and brown sugar and hints of butterscotch. Almost like a werthers nose. I also get some floral honey and hints of light fruit, maybe pear. But the butterscotch and werthers are by far the dominant scent. Not really fusol booze nor any hop character that I can detect.
First sip reveals a lighter body than anticipated and also a sticky texture. The beer drinks easy and coats my palate. Carbonation is soft and almost non-existent.
Flavor is sweet on this beer. I get caramel and toffee and hints of brown sugar, here the fruit is more apple and I am definitely thinking of candied apple notes. Hops are absent and booze is hidden with neither pepper or heat showing through. This beer is sweet for sure and I find myself sipping it due to that reason and not any others. Ive got 3 more of these cans and will definitely plan on splitting these from now on to divy up the sugar!

Poured from a 12 oz can into a Treehouse tulip

L: Nearly clear amber pour. Faint fizzy head leaves negligible lacing.

S: Sweet and boozy. Caramel, honey, vanilla, and ethanol. Maybe a trace of gin in there.

T.F: Sweet. Really sweet... and a bit cloying. Loads of brown sugar, caramel, and malts. Honey and vanilla. Super boozy... a hint of spice. Bourbon is subdued... not picking up any of the gin botanicals. Maybe a bit of earthy hops but this is a sweet brew. Medium bodied and sticky... toffee, caramel, and dessert finish.

O: A sweet mess of a booze bomb. Lots of flavor though. A nice little dessert, and even 12 oz is too much... definitely one to share.

12oz. Can served in a Spiegelau tulip. Pours caramel hue with a slight haze to the clarity and a tight, off-white band around the shoulders. Nose expresses ethanol, toffee and figs, with a suggestion of earthy hops in the background. Taste is really rich and decadent - think liquid Sugar Daddies. Flavor profile is sugary and cloying with just a hint of hops at the finish. Mouthfeel is medium-light in body with an almost still carbonation, an oily texture and a residual ethanol burn at the back of the throat between quaffs. Overall, this is aggressive! Closer to an English Barleywine in my opinion. It little goes a long way - wish I had saved this to share.