6th Anniversary
Matchless Brewing

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque in the glass with a quarter finger khaki head that dissipates to a thin film with light lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt with a touch of char, cocoa, vanilla, dried plum and raisins, whiskey. Flavor follows, with dark toasted malt with light char, whiskey, plums, raisins, cocoa, vanilla and dry caramel; dark fruit and whiskey in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. Tastes like what it is: a blend of barrel aged stout and barleywine. Toasted malt with a bit of smoke and cocoa from the stout and a mixture of dark fruit and caramel from the barleywine. I'd say it leans moderately in the (English) barleywine direction, although the stout notes are clear. Lots of flavors to parse and not quite as integrated as a FW blended strong ale, but nicely made and delicious. ABV well covered, but warming. Enjoyable.

Poured from a can at fridge temp. Pours very dark brown with about an inch of light brown head. Nose is full of chocolate, vanilla, nuts, a bit of maple, a nice roasty note. The taste is sweet candy, toffee, chocolate, raspberries, figs, cherries, molasses, red wine, and a nutty note. Mouthfeel is actually thinner than I expected. Sweet on the aftertaste. Alcohol really not overly powerful.