Bumps Ahead
Brouwerij De Moersleutel

Pours a deep mahogany coloration with a small, fizzy head. Smells of caramel malt and dark fruits, with notes of raisin, fig and plum, as well as just a hint of chocolate, hazelnut and resinous hops. Taste is a good balance of caramel malt, strong dark fruit and red berry notes of plum, raisin, fig, cranberry and lighter chocolate and nutty hazelnut accents, as well as just a hint of citrus, resinous hops with faint notes of grapefruit and pine. Finishes bittersweet, with a light bitterness and some caramel malt, dark fruit and pine lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

Although the dry-hopping is not all that obvious here, which may well be due to age, this still makes for a very American example of the style, with some hoppy accents being clearly evident, although the caramel malt, dark fruits and lighter red berries are clearly in charge here, with some some support by light chocolatey, nutty accents. Overall this makes for a very well-balanced American Barleywine with a good balance of sweet and bitter notes, that is perhaps just a bit lacking in body and mouthfeel though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can @ home. Deep dark brown colour. Light beige head with short retention. Aroma's of green hops from the can, in the glass the hops are subdued (but still there, there is caramel/sweetness. Retronasal there's caramel, hops and light fruit. Flavour is moderate sweet and light moderate bitter. Body is medium (at best). Moderate bitter finish. Nice, but there's room for improvement.