Old King Cascade
Wander Beyond Brewing

 

16oz. can from the brewer himself! Into a Founders snifter.

Pours dark brown. A small head with oily, slick legs. Solid. Nose is green raisin, brown sugar, booze, and a touch of molasses. Quite aromatic but this one smells quite young. Beer opens sweet. I get hints of brown sugar, green raisin, molasses, and fig. Throughout there are overtones of a biting hop bitterness. Another sip yields a touch of currant, more brown sugar, and a bark bitterness at the finish with a long, sweet, molasses aftertaste. Again, solid but needs time to round out the edges. Body is full with moderate to low carbonation. Soft with some bubbles on the palate and goes down rich, thick, and slightly boozy with a lingering aftertaste. Pretty good.

Overall this one would definitely benefit from some age and barrel-aging. The hop bitterness distracts from the traditional rich barleywine flavors and I need those to drop out.