Thor's Might
Barbarian Brewing

 

a tasty and also kind of strange barleywine, unique layers of flavor in this, bourbon barrel aged, way stronger than what is listed here, some vintage to vintage variance no doubt. pretty dark in color, but not insanely viscous for what it is, molasses toned, and aromas of raisin and pipe tobacco, black fig, port wine, tanned leather, musty basement, heavy whiskey, and sweet toffee and maple, but also some woodsy character too, past just the oak, fallen leaves and organic decay, intriguing, and of course its hot with alcohol. the flavor is intense too, bran muffin and dark bread, toasted warmth and the booze heat, definite vanilla, roasted chestnut and hazelnut too, coffee on the darkest end with some roast, light smoke, for sure old leather furniture, a unique mineral profile, and less sweetness than a lot of these have, especially with all the barrel character, i swear too i almost get an olive sort of umami thing in the depths of this, root beer too. its very strong, a slow sipper to be sure, but its different from the standard in this style and i have a lot of love for that. it also doesnt appear to be packed with adjuncts, which is becoming uncommon for these guys. a nice early fall barleywine here, savory, almost hits more like an old stock ale or something, neat malt layers in this and never getting too dark, i like it more and more each sip i take. i bet this will age real well too, but cool to have it on tap at the brewery!

edit: a little less strange and distinctive and leathery from the bottle, maybe a little more refined in this format, perhaps a different vintage, 13% abv too, wow. i find this real compelling, its kind of mellow for the style but has a ton of grain depth and a cozy alcohol presence. improving the overall score slightly, i think this is one of the better local examples of the style, really polished and not overbuilt. sure to age well too!

Nitro pour at brewery. Dark brown with a two finger creamy head. Aroma is light roasted malts, dark chocolate, sweetness. Cacao revealed a bit more in the taste, milk sugar, coffee bitterness. Light mouth coating, dry.

On-tap at the Garden City location. Appearance-wise, this is a beautiful coppery amber with a consistent filmy lace. All-around this brew has strong English Barleywine characteristics; toffee and caramel, vanilla, sticky dark fruit, hint of smoke, bourbony goodness, oak, minor char, mellow alcohol bitterness. Real nice offering.