Valour
Northern Monk Brew Co.

look: two finger white smooth head with great retention, beer is a super hazy dark amber colour, can just about make out some sow moving carbonation in the beer.

smell: smells really nice, lot of sweet orange aroma, hint of lemon sherbet, very floral and herbal, lot of pine, fern, caramel, brown bread malt, toffee, demerara sugar, honey, smells very inviting.

taste: big big beer here, sweet orange is the standout, orange pith, lemon, pink grapefruit, burned caramel, toffee, pine, fern, earthy, floral, herbal, lacking in malt flavour (for the style) but there is some brown bread and biscuity flavours there, high bitterness on the finish, sweet fruit flavours linger, interesting stuff.

feel: full bodied, light carbonation, lots of lingering bitterness on the back of the tongue, the alcohol really sneaks up on you, lot of warming alcohol after awhile.

overall: i mean, in a technical sense, assuming that a barleywine is meant to be malt forward, this isnt quite that, but it is quite nice all the same, heavy going stuff, but good.

Poured from the 440ml can into an unmarked pint glass.
Look: very Hazy amber with a thick, 1 finger, white head. lots of lacing as the beer is swirled in the glass.
Smell: Fresh tropical fruits and citrus, massive American hop aroma, and no noticeable malt notes on the nose.
Taste: more of the same as the smell just not as refreshing due to the high bitterness.
Feel: medium to full bodied, similar in a way to a DIPA.
Overall: decent Barleywine, but I'd prefer a little more malt aroma on the nose and a more malty taste overall.

Hazy amber, with a slightly off-white steady head. Smells hoppy, plenty of pine, some dank and some bitter citrus. Pretty sharp mouthfeel. Taste is heavy bitter over plenty of maltyness. Orange pith, piney resin and some marmelade. Solid west coast TIPA.

The pour into my usual glass is quite 'splashy sounding', whereas up around 10.5% the beers usually pour slow and silent, presumably more viscous due to more carbs content? This should be interesting...
L- Deep amber, pours slightly hazy with a 2mm white head. (ps 15mins later, some foam lingers which at this ABV% is impressive)
S- I could smell this on the pour, the scent was more contemporary (citrus/Citra?) style than a typical barley wine.
T- Fruity, is that lychee or something equally as perfumed? ... passion-fruit? Something over in that part of the spectrum I believe... ps. some citrus might be creeping in, mandarin or similar?...
F- It comes over quite robust, and I'm noticing an ABV%-lick across my palate.
O- I haven't read the lable yet so have yet to determine what this beer is all about. It's not like a English Barley-wine for sure. I'm not sure I get a vinious note at all, more a rich+higher-ABV% iteration of the contemporary (US) IPA style with an increasingly (as it warms) ABV%.
440ml krafty-can. Elegant lable but so subtly printed in pale-mid-broze on mid-mid bronze that anyone over about say 30 years old might consider whether the challenge would be simpler after downing a few of these. I'll certainly finish this one, but it's not really for me, like a very high ABV% NEIPA hence the feel/body is really amped up in parallel.
Bought from TremblingMadness/York as part of a DIY mixed case or two for home delivery. 440ml can £6.70, ouch! BB: 12/01/21