Big Bang - Praline
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

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

This smells like brown sugar, caramel, slight booziness, piney hops, and pecan syrup.

There’s definitely some really contrasting flavors here, as Big Bang is a hoppier and resinous barleywine, and the pecan and brown sugar add some silky and sugary notes to the hoppy barleywine. It’s an interesting dimension, but it’s somewhat clashing, and definitely makes for a slower sipping experience, as everything is quite intense here.

This is medium bodied, slightly boozy, and sweet up front with some light bitterness on the finish.

I think the barrel aged versions of Big Bang help smooth out the sharper American barleywine edges better than this pastry version, but I still enjoy it.

Sampling a cellar temp 500 ml bottle poured into a snifter. Bottled on 4/28/2022, picked up at the brewery in October 2022, and the bottle has been in my cellar till tonight.
The beer pours a clear copper color with about1cm of dense creamy eggshell white head. This foam fades to a sturdy edge layer soon after the pour.
The aroma is brown sugar, toffee, some glazed nuts, I guess praline, but its generally nutty scent. No real hint of hop character and the ABV is well hidden too, not boozy or fusol at all.
First sip reveals a medium body and smooth texture. The carbonation is fine gentle and sort of spacious on my palate. Beer feels nice and drinks easy.
Flavor is sweet malt with toffee and brown sugar mixing with nutty notes again, which must be praline. No hop character and again the beer hides its ABV. No black pepper bite, no warming booze on the swallow.
This is a sweet beer with some depth to it, but not a lot of contrasting flavors. I am enjoying is as I really like the malt forward barleywines. I could see someone thinking the beer is too sweet, but I dig it.