2016 Barrel Aged Barleywine
Whitewall Brewing Company

Sweet and clean after a couple of years in the bottle. Long interesting aroma of molasses and warm grain. Caramel taste and body like a liqueur.

Burnt sugar and bitter hops. This is surprisingly bitter in the aftertaste, though welcome after all the sweetness. A powerful brew that's a pleasure to sip. Purchased from the cooler at Elizabeth Station.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a dark orange-red with ruby notes and a thin off-white head that dissipates to patches but with nice light lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, dried and fresh plums, dates, light stone fruit, a hint of hops. Flavor is caramel and biscuit malt, dates, dried plums, lighter notes of fresh plums and peach, light oak, a hint of whiskey and grassy hops. Medium bodied with light creaminess. A very nice barleywine that has a mild suggestion of hop bitterness, but otherwise has a classic English barleywine malt and fruit profile. A touch thin in mouth feel, but the flavors are fantastic. The big ABV is well covered, making this a dangerous 750ml; needs to be slowly sipped and enjoyed. I had never heard of these guys, but gambled on a last bottle on the shelf; glad I did. I look forward to trying some of their other ales.