Montana Flannel
Highlander Beer

love the name, it sure will keep you warm! had to try this when i was in, a monster of a barleywine, hoppy and fresh and new tasting, kind of forgot what fresh barleywine tasted like actually, seems like they are always cellared bottles or old kegs these days, but this one seems just made, and i like it, in some ways like big ipa, but nice and malty too, and for being bold, this is also kind of understated, i guess in that it doesnt have a barrel treatment, a dessert or fruit element, or some novelty process like being boiled for ten hours or anything like that, its just a nice mix of ingredients, albeit a lot of them. a little more pale than a lot of these, but not crazy light looking or anything, nice white head from the tap, looks clean and active for the style, not a ton of viscosity here despite the alcohol. the nose and taste are warm but not fusel or overly boozy, and its not as residually sugary as so many of these are, seems even restrained to me in favor of the hoppy back end, which is pine forward, oily, and lingers as long as any grain sugar on the swallow. its lacking a little bit of malt depth, not totally monotone, but it comes all at once, not in waves, and doesnt change much with temperature. still, i like the golden raisin and toffee notes this brings, and i like that even though its hop forward, that there is still a little something bready in the mix from the yeast. lighter in body than many, but still sturdy to drink, alcohol popping just a bit. as much as i commend this for being straight up, i could also see it really doing well in a rye barrel, especially with this hop profile...