Mad Scientists
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

The beer pours a dark cola color that's a bit muddy, but clears up with a bit of warmth. No head to speak of but there's little bubbles here and there that like hanging on the glass. More like legs with just a little lacing.

Oh my...big vanilla on the nose bit not overwhelming. Fades a bit with some air time, but really strong off the bottle. Then rich toffee and caramel supplemented by sweet figgy goodness. It's a mellow and extremely well-blended "drink me" aroma. It reminds me of how a high quality pipe tobacco smells for some odd reason. There's really no sign of the big ABV.

I'm gonna skip to mouth feel for a change because it is extraordinary. It's creamy and ultra-smooth, a tad bit sticky, pleasant and gentle carbonation, enjoyably warming with no heat to speak of, and for the huge amount of flavor it's delivering it is clean as can be.

Yeah...the flavor. Big malts. Mildly toasty, maybe. Caramel and toffee followed by obvious fig and some subtle dark sweet cherry in the background. The vanilla plays over the top of the fig and malt adding to and enhancing the base flavors. The vanilla carries just a bit into the aftertaste. It is sweet but nowhere near being overly sweet or syrupy. I get a little milk chocolate. The flavor hits big and with some intensity, but it manages to reset quickly after the swallow. And again thinking about high end tobacco.

This is some excellent drinking, in my opinion. This beer is an experience - everything is so superbly melded into a cohesive whole here.

sampling a cellar temp 500 ml bottle poured into my trusty snifter. Bottled on 10/04/2022. Picked up at the brewery about 10 days later.
the beer pours a rich dark cola brown and almost no light passes through my glass. A dense creamy beige head foams up about 3 cm and fades to a sturdy surface layer that sticks around through the sampling.
Aroma is rich and toffee and caramel with some vanilla and I definitely get the fig notes too. I really feel like I get faint cinnamon in the background too. No hot notes or booziness even at 13.7%>
First sip reveals a medium body with soft and smooth texture and fairly gentle carbonation. I do get a little stickiness on my lips with each sip.
The flavor is malty through and through, with toffee and a bit of fig notes, then getting overtaken by the vanilla, which carries through to the finish. Not much for hop character and only booze hints is a bit of a black pepper bite at the swallow, never any heat though.
This is a sweeter barleywine for sure, and the vanilla is strong. I do enjoy this one and find the figs and vanilla work well together. Solid brew from the team in Saco!

 

Dark brown approaching black with and off-white head that leaves spotty lacing. Sweet aroma reminiscent of amburana wood, vanilla and grape koolaid. The taste is much drier and more restrained in comparison. Hints of cocoa and even clay. Super thick feel with light carbonation. Not bad.