English Barleywine
Local Relic

Dark, reddish-brown body with a very thin, wispy head, mostly hugging the edges. Wonderful dark roasted grain aroma; fruity; raisins, plums and dates; enticing mystery spiciness; cinnamon and maybe some kind of curry. The taste follows the flavor; big yet appropriate alcohol presence; brown sugar; black licorice and anise; dark, dried fruit flavors throughout. Heavy body; viscous; residual sugar sweetness counterbalanced with a boozy dryness.

A very nice malt-forward, strong alcohol English barelywine. It only lacks in the appearance department with its skimpy head (yet many high ABV beers suffer from the same thing). The beer brings about a nice balance of malt goodness with a bold alcohol edge, all nicely tempered with some rich, dark fruit esters. Damn fine...