Because Life is Sticky
Transient Artisan Ales

 

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 3/2018. Pours slightly hazy deep orange/copper/amber color with a 1 finger dense and fluffy light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, red apple, white grape, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready malts, maple syrup bourbon barrels, and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge caramel, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, red apple, white grape, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal, grassy, peppery, charred oak bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, brown bread/crust, dark fruit, apricot, red apple, white grape, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, maple syrup bourbon barrels, and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a solid malt/bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and lightly slick/sticky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mildly increasing warmth of 12%, with minimal lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic barrel aged English barleywine! All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, maple syrup bourbon barrels, and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV, with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish; great soft feel. Amazing balance of rich malts and maple syrup barrel presence/integration; with restrained fruity English yeast, and solid earthy hop balance. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazing style example. Was expecting a bit more fruitiness for an English barleywine, but still spot on stuff. Malts and barrels are the showcase.

This one pours a very murky dark brown color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like bittersweet maple syrup and toffee candy, with toasted oak, herbal hops, booze, and bourbon.

This is a lot more bitter than I'd expect an English Barleywine to be - let alone one with maple in it. The maple is a quite bittersweet flavor, and there's a lot of oak and bitter breadiness. Definitely some dark fruit as well.

This is medium bodied, and decently drinkable, with a lower level of carbonation.

I wanted a bit more maple decadence here, but it's still a decently well made beer here.

A - Pours a dark amber with a one finger off white head. Light soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is caramel, maple, red apple and bourbon.

T - The taste is caramel, toffee, red apple, raisins, figs, maple, vanilla and bourbon.

M - Medium body with low carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a soft dry finish.

O - This is a superb BBA Barleywine. The maple is subtle and adds a nice sweetness to base beer.

22 ounce bottle into a snifter. Had 8/11/18.

Pours a mostly clear, medium amber color, with not much of a head and some spotty lacing. Aromas of caramel, malt, bourbon, dates, raisins, white grapes, cherries, some maple and oak, light smoke. Kind of a perfume- like aroma. Guess that counts as herbal. The taste is similar, but ramped up. Flavors of malt, caramel, bourbon, maple, dates, white grapes, plums, some cherries, light figs. Really good. Smooth, a good medium body, well carbonated.

The barrels are excellent, and while the base beer is a little light for the style, it’s really flavorful. Fruity, but not as much dark fruit. Great balance between the base and the barrels. Well worth a purchase, if they make it again.

Pours a murky color that sits somewhere between whiskey and apple cider. Towards the top of the glass is a beautiful sunburst effect like you would see on a guitar. The only head present is a ring of large bubbles around the glass.
Nose is apple, caramel, brown sugar, maple comes through midway. Some faint woody and earthy notes as well. There's a vague sort of yeasty funk as well. The candy apple note dominates as it warms.
Taste is fruit- orange, grape, red delicious apple followed by a caramel and maple syrup sweetness. Bitter notes follow while a woody dryness lingers. . A scant touch of heat at the end, not overbearing at all. As the beer warms caramel and maple are front and center.
Mouthfeel is fairly thick, oily if you give it a swish. Nice softness in the carbonation.
I'm not a die hard maple syrup fan, though its something I really appreciate when done right. This is a great example of maple done right. The barleywine is married very well with the maple syrup notes, and the barrel adds an additional dimension.

 

 

Apple, caramel, maple, bourbon

Best barleywine I've ever drank. The sweetness from the maple syrup barrel added the perfect amount of sweetness to the barley. Not even a close second in my opinion

 

 

 

Draft pour from the anniversary party.

Not very sticky at all. Light brown with a small ring of foam around the glass. Smell has a lot of honey. Taste has muted hops and a big sweetness, but not syrupy. Thin and heavily carbonated. I’m used to BA English Barleywine being sweet, heavy, and low carb. This wasn’t, but the softness made it really drinkable. Tasted more like an American Barleywine.