Parallax
Single Hill Brewing

12-ounce can purchased at Belmont Station. No date stamp, but the label identifies this as the 2024 vintage and indicates it was canned in NOV '24. Enjoyed in a Fort George Lupulin Ecstasy Festival glass.

Note: The ABV on this version is 13.9%.

Look:
Deep red-orange with dim amber highlights, in a very clear body topped with a dense, eggnog-colored head. The foam dissipates quickly and leaves a thin web of lacing. The final pour introduces a suspension of many particles to my glass.

Smell:
Baked apples, stewed prunes, caramel, and a lively sprinkling of spices (pepper, cinnamon). A little vanilla, even less whiskey. Some earthy hops waft up as the beer warms.

Taste:
The nose may underpromise, but the flavor overdelivers in the best way. Rich and full of warm toffee and caramel, on a base of concentrated dark fruit (baked apple, prunes, red wine, a shred of candied orange peel). Notes of cinnamon, anise, and vanilla. Unlike the nose, the flavor shows an abundance of oak and whiskey. Not too sweet! In fact, the whiskey defiantly faces the sweetness of the base beer and draws a line in the sand: This far, no further. There's a breath of coconut in the aftertaste, and a kiss of almond paste at the very end. Delightful. Unobtrusive bitterness manages to linger into the finish. The more I try to focus on it, the more elusive it gets.

Feel:
The beer has a full body that stops short of syrupy. Carbonation is restrained but effective. Alcohol makes no attempt to hide.

Overall:
Leads with a lush palette of fruit and a sturdy foundation of caramel. The whiskey flavor and the base beer merge like old dance partners. Parallax is not too hot, not too sweet, and not too pricy. I really ought to pick up another can or two.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a medium to dark, reddish orange with a quarter finger, light khaki head that dissipates to a thin film with light lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, figs, raisins, toffee and light whiskey. Flavor is caramel malt, toffee, figs, raisins, light citrus, whiskey and a touch of oaky vanilla. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess. A caramel forward barleywine, but with some old fashioned dark dried fruit. The barrel character is light to moderate with little woody character. Not hop forward and bright citrus as most American barleywines (which is how this is described on the can), but with good English dark fruit mixed with lighter citrus notes and some whiskey. It's a nice combination that I like better than the standard state-side profile. Nicely done.

2025-02-21
12oz can served in a tulip. 2024 vintage. 13.9% abv.

Pours murky dark brown-amber with a medium sized head, slow dissipation, and snail-like carbonation struggling through the heavy medium. Smell is bourbon, vanilla, toffee, caramel, booze and oak. Actually quite a bit of oak.

Taste is boozy, astringent, bark and oak, vanilla and maple sweet, bitterness more in the earthy / oaky form, wow is that alcohol noticeable.

Mouthfeel is thick, heavy, fluffy, and prickly, all at the same time. Overall, very nice.

 

 

This is wonderful, adult liquid hard candy in my glass. Lots of caramel and butterscotch with a warming brown liquor backdrop dominate this one. There is some orange candies and raisin in the background. The body is full and lush. So glad I got to try this one thanks again Tim!

 

 

This pours a cloudy amber color similar to raw apple cider with a very thin delicate head. Sweet caramel aroma very similar to calvados. Almost a burnt brown sugar flavor with caramel a boozy heat. Moderate mouthfeel with very delicate carbonation. Overall, a superb BA Barleywine!

Poured from a can at fridge temp, but it has warmed for a good 5-10 minutes so far. Pours a murky orange with a bit of off-white head. The barrel comes through on the nose pretty immediately. Boozy bourbon, along with some citrus notes. Orange peel, melon, a nice floral note, and a hint of toffee (although it took a bit for this to come out).

The taste is fantastic. Sweeter than the nose suggested. Now getting tons of Werther's caramel candy, along with vanilla, bourbon, and an ever-so-soft citrus peel note. Also getting notes of honey and a plums. Really love the taste. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, and the aftertaste is sweet candy.

I'm really surprised how different the nose and taste were on this beer. It's not often that I'm completely shocked by a taste after smelling something, but that's what happened here.