Leather-Bound Books and Rich Mahogany
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

Pours a murky dark amber red with a finger of fizzy khaki head that quickly settles into a decent crown. No lacing.

Muddled aroma of vanilla, custard, orange zest, brown sugar, squash and cherry.

The mix comes together better in the taste. The cherry stands out less impeded, and is in fact complemented by the brown sugar, light orange, vanilla, and sweet tobacco. Very clear bitters add strong root beer, clove and allspice to the finish.

Light to medium bodied, slightly slick, with heavy carbonation.

This has a lingering root beer sweetness and strong spice profile that making soloing the bottle a bit of a chore. Most bitters-added beers I’ve tried are too heavy handed, and I put this in the same category. The flavors are interesting, but intense. And I’m someone who enjoys the occasional Moxie or Jägermeister. IMO, this would be better as a sample on tap or at a share.

 

My review is of the 2024 version. I believe the barrel aging differs - this was aged in St. Elmos Old Fashioned barrels for 11 months, 23 days. The ABV is 14.4%

Pours a murky brown with a fleeting half inch of tan foam that falls to nothing. Liquid clings to the glass nicely.

The smell...hmm..cherry and cherry pipe tobacco. Sweet - molasses and toffee. Just the faintest bit of orange. Then there's this vague spice thing going on. It's also herbal, slightly floral, and earthy.

All that did absolutely nothing to prepare me for the taste. The lead is spice - cardamom, nutmeg, coriander, clove, and something I can't quite identify. And it is not subtle on the first sip - it's a real whack upside the head. As that calms down, there's is fruity sweetness and decadently ricb cherry. I do get the pipe tobacco sensation. Both a toffee and a molasses sweetness and a sweet bready malt foundation. Just a faint bit of orange. In the aftermath there is a bit of pepper and with more sips an anise spiciness lingers pleasantly. It's earthy, a little herbaceous and floral, and nicely grounded.

The feel is medium which is a blessing. If this were heavy, it'd be tough to drink. As it warms and I adapt to it, that spice slap gets gentler. The spice does tingle and the anise lingers very pleasantly. It seems dry which is weird but not a negative.

Overall, a big beer for responsible sipping. It's interesting in the best possible way. Big and bold and the initial sips are Mike Tyson-esque body shots. It calms down considerably as it warms - very pleasant.

I cant believe no one has reviewed this one yet. I am pouring a 500 ml bottle into my snifter at just above cellar temperature. The bottle was bottled on 9/12/2022 and I picked it up at the brewery in October 2022 and its been in my cellar since then.
The beer pours a dark rich mahogany color with a dense creamy khaki colored head of 1.5 cm. This foam fades to a sturdy surface covering and makes dense clingy lattice with each sip.
Aroma is complex!! Sweet toffee and bourbon mixes with some sweet orange notes and general fruitiness. I also get some pipe tobacco notes and brown sugar. Finally I am getting a sweet spicy note, that is sort of cinnamon like but more subtle (no cinnamon added to this beer). No hop presence anywhere, but there is just a bit of black peppery nose which I attribute to booze.
First sip reveals a medium to light body with smooth texture and fine slightly tingly carbonation. I find the beer drinks surprisingly easy on the physical traits for a big barleywine. Maybe a little thin on the mouthfeel.
Flavor is also complex like the nose. toffee and brown sugar with some bourbon. Again sweet orange, not the pithy bite of hops. I do get some cherry coridal chocolate candy in here too. Some dark fruit too and that sweet spiciness that is almost cinnamon is here again. Still no hop notes anywhere.
Booze gives a little warmth at the end of each swallow.
this is a complex interesting barleywine, I like it and im finding flavors that I dont often experience in beers. Glad to have tried this one from a great big beer brewing brewery.