English Barleywine
Inbound BrewCo

L: bright dense brown with ruby highlights capped by a 1/2" layer of light tan foam with fair to poor retention

S: smells like alcohol, sweet barley malt, fruit, dark dried fruit, a hint of sherry, some spice and some cinnamon

T: flavors lead with stone fruit, cherry, plum, dark dried fruit, some caramel, alcohol, and a mild sweetness that leaves a light sticky coating on the lips

F: chewy and full with medium low carbonation

O: big boozy barelywine has mixed drink levels of alcohol and makes a perfect nighcap

this is a great barleywine, classically styled and one of the more well refined beers i have had from these guys, my first in awhile though, so maybe they have all come up a level. its deep caramel colored with a bit of haze on it, a shy patchy head, and a strong aroma of toffee and raisins and long boiled grain sugar, bready english yeast, bran muffin and baking flour, and some sweet booziness that tickles my nostrils and slows me down right away before i ever even take a sip. its awesome stuff, really full and heavy, with caramel and maple aspects, sweet but not diabetic for me, drinkable enough for the style, and made more complete than many of these are by allowing some space for the yeast flavor, a burton type it seems, patiently fermented. the flavors start to get more complex as this warms up, but so does the booze, contrary to many beers in this style, i almost prefer it a little cooler, it doesnt need to open much, its complex enough without the slightly fusel alcoholic sting in the end. smooth in feel, moderate carbonation seems right, and a long grainy finish, wintery and warming and old worldy. i thought this was great!