Thomas Hardy's Ale
Interbrau S.p.A

Pours an opaque dark orange or amber, thin ring of head, minimal lacing. Nose is expressive with burnt sugar, malt, and roasted barley. Taste follows with tons of roasted, creamy toffee, butterscotch, and toasted dark bread. Sweetness is relatively subdued, and the finish is spicy and with slight bitterness. In no way cloying, but extremely smooth. Next to no carbonation, but the alcohol and head stay very well hidden. Really enjoyed this and hope to get more.

My copy is the 2017 vintage (#19241) that was aged in bourbon barrels for 6 months.
A pretty amber on this EBW. Smells offer up the dark fruit modified by the barrel adding vanilla. Tastes are integrated from attack to the finish. A particularly good mouth, smooth... perhaps like the whiskey whose barrels found a second life.

As for my micro-review of Interbrau... that is a challenge with only one brew on BA. But Interbrau is an importer to Italy of some the world's top brewers. Also it seems, they had the good sense to buy the recipe and rights to a classic English strong ale Thomas Hardy (also a Victorian poet and novelist.) So, Interbrau operates on a different business model. And for that, they get some great Overall Hugs ... To your health or Salute' !

 

 

 

No head and a low level of carbonation. Bronze-ish orange color. Not as syrupy sweet as some English Barleywines can tend to be. Quite drinkable even with the stiff 11.2 percent alcohol level.

 

 

 

Almost no head production, with a thin pinkish ring lining the glass after the pour. Brew is a nutty, garnet-hued clear brown.

Nose features waves of caramel grains, earthy, noble hops, slight brown sugar, grass, figs, grapes, and a touch of oxidation - despite being fresh.

Flavor is quite similar, with a bitter, earthy, hoppy bite more in line with American Barleywines. Waves of caramel grains, accented by sweet toffee, red grapes, brown sugar, and figs. Very bitter.

Thick, creamy, smooth mouthfeel. Slightly hot; this brew is proudly wearing its 11.7% ABV on its sleeve. Warms the belly long after the sip is complete; long, warm finish in the mouth. That .... didn't come out right.

Pours ruddy amber with a lot of cloudiness and a negligible, wispy head. Berries, stewed apples, lemon, cookiedough, caramel, rum in the nose. Chewy, biscuity, bready, fruity malts in the taste. Alcohol is very well hidden, providing some warming and not much more. Fruity esters build with time. Faint leafy hops and light bitterness in the back. The mouthfeel is full bodied with very sparse carbonation. The finish is malty, fruity and long lasting.

A classic British Barleywine. Complex and very malty but not overly so. A classic everyone should try.

 

 

Decanted from an 11.2 oz (330 ml) bottle into a custom tasting pint glass; 2017 Vintage, bottle no. 17473.
A: Pours a very hazy, caramel color, e.g. light copper with orange highlights, forming a sudsy, one finger head, retention to no more than a rim, and early, soapy lacing which resolves entirely.
S: Aromas of caramel, honey/honeysuckle, vanilla, white pepper, and brandy.
T: Semisweet with booziness evident. Aromas remain in flavor pallet, with addition of perhaps brown sugar, definitely grapefruit rind and tobacco, and certainly a touch of tutti-fruity somewherein the background. Peppery bitterness offsets some of sweetness and booziness, a plus.
M: Full bodied with low carbonation. Very rough at this stage and chewy.
O: No question that this is a well designed barleywine. Was surprised and somewhat delighted by the carbonation, albeit short-lived, although I recognize this bottle is rather young: I've heard oenophiles refer to consumption of Bordeaux wines this early as "infanticide." I suspect much of the roughness will mellow with age and would expect increased subtly and complexity. Will let you know, when and if.

2017
Pours thick and flat. Sugary toffee and caramel flavor and nose. Port wine notes and sweet booze. Rich and thick body.

 

2017 vintage
Very light fizzy head fades very quickly, a bit of lacing and some legs, very hazy maroon auburn dark reddish brown color

Nose big sweet aged malt, brown malts with candy and caramel sugars, lots of toffee, a bit biscuity, some oxidation brandy wine like notes but not much, but also mild dark fruits and vegetal BBQ sauce notes, various layered sweet brown malts

Taste brings more sweet malt, fairly sweet in general, more aged soft malt and a bit of a toasted brown malt, caramel, toffee, a bit biscuity, lots of candy and sugars, caramelized sugars, a bit of earthy hop bitterness but not much, some warming tingly alcohol, more oxidation in a bit of a brandy flavor as well as a touch papery, syrupy, turning into a hot booze and bitter hop finish with sweet sticky malts lingering, gets fairly bitter on the finish

Mouth is med to fuller bod, a bit of a soft aging feel, decent carb for the style and age, some hot tingly warming booze

Overall not bad, hits a lot of the style guidelines, lots of age and some oxidation which is OK and doesn't go overboard, fairly enjoyable aside from the BBQ sauce notes, but a decent beer for style and history

 

 

Pours a slightly cloudy, deep, dark amber coloration with a tiny, frothy head that almost instantly fades to a fine ring around the glass. Smells of sweet, caramel malt and red berries: cranberry, strawberry, with hints of toffee and vanilla. Taste follows the nose, being dominated by caramel malts and red berries: cranberry, strawberry, as well as hints of toffee and vanilla, but also with some light dark fruits: fig, dates, brown sugar and honey. Quite a bit of booziness to this as well. Finishes with a very light bitterness and heavy sweetness, with some red berry notes lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a rich body and low carbonation.

I'm honestly not a huge fan of Barleywines and was wondering if this might change my mind. It didn't. Although it's probably one of the best example of the style that I've had, it's still just too syrupy sweet and boozy for my personal taste, even though I can kinda appreciate the strong red berry character and toffee notes.