Magnus-Double Barrel
Melvin Brewing

Upon opening the bottle there was a bit of smoke. The pour looks quite dark, almost black. In the glass it also looks almost black. When held up to the light, there's the faintest hint of amber showing through. The head came to 2 finger, and tan colored. The head dissipated rapidly, considering that it's 15%, it's not surprising. No lacing on the glass.
Deep notes of plum, raisin, fig, caramel and toffee. There's a boozy aroma from the alcohol, and the barrels used in aging the beer.
Flavor - for a fraction of a second, this beer is very mellow. The mellowness fades right away to get raisin, plum, fig, caramel, toffee flavors. I am also getting some flavors that I really can't put to words, because I would guess that they're from the cognac barrel, and I've never had cognac. I do like that flavor, though.
This is a thick beer. Very full bodied. Very smooth feeling. There is a burn from the alcohol, but it is so faint, and on the way back. The burn is just slightly warming, than harsh.
This is an amazing beer, and so glad I bought it when on vacation.

Black in color with no head and no light penetration. The aroma is of cognac, vanilla, a plethora of dark malt, and bourbon. I'm tasting cognac, heaps of dark malt, and vanilla. The mouth is thick, chewy, and warm with alcohol.

 

Pours an effervescent chestnut/cola color with very little head. Zero head retention & lacing, viscous

S: Port barrels, figs, plums, caramelized brown sugar. Red wine/port once warm

T: Dark chocolate, figs, raisins, brown sugar, treacle, a kiss of vanilla & candied prunes upfront, a little bit of leafy hops & oaky dryness as well. Sweet red grapes, leafy hops & oaky dryness, plus figs & raisins as this warms up, a treacle & touch of leather as well. Finishes dry with a little leather, port notes, & figs

MF: Fairly chewy, restrained carbonation, warming. Carbonation picks up a little once this warms

Superb BA take on the style, other than appearance; this is world-class

I know nothing about this beer but somehow am super excited about it. $18 from melvin and aged in bourbon and cognac sounds good reading the label. Packaging is on point. Price was steep as fuck at $18/500ml.

Look isn't terribly impressive.

Smell is rich and deep and everything you expect to smell in an upper tier English barleywine. It smells a little weak though but this is the second beer in a row I've thought that and I do have some lingering sickness so it may be me.

Taste? Oh yeah. This shits all over a lot of more hyped barleywines I've had. This is definitely one of the better barleywines I've bought off the shelf ever. Most upper tier ones seem to be limited (excluded jw lees) but im taking this over the brew 5k I had not long ago 10/10 times. Honestly it's probably better than 2021 mother of all storms too (but nowhere near as good as vintage MOAS).

Overall I'm grabbing a few more if these are still available.

From the bottle in a snifter. This fantastic brew pours a near pitch
black with a thin dissipating head of tan foam with scant lacing. Nose
of sweet vinous berries, oak, bourbon, dark chocolate, leather, treacle,
and brandy. Flavors follow nicely with leather, tobacco hints, bourbon,
maple, dark berries, brandy (cognac), oak, vanilla touches, dark cocoa,
vanilla, and moderate char. Nice mouth feel; medium full body, smooth,
rich, coating, warming, low carbonation, and a medium dry finish.

Overall-----wow!

Cheers

Bought at Liquor Shed in Casper. No dating that I can find on the bottle.

It pours not quite pitch black with a small short lived head of tan foam. Very little lacing.

Smells of caramel malt, maple syrup, brown sugar, dark pitted fruits, sweet with some alcohol.

Taste is maple syrup, caramel malt, brown sugar, pitted fruits, some heat from the alcohol, can't deny the flavour of Bourbon. Yikes. Pretty darn smooth.

Close to full bodied if not so. Gentle carbonation.

Impressive!

On draft at PapPo's Pizzeria. Poured out an opaque, black color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It left sudsy rings of lace on the glass. It smelled of bourbon, oak, vanilla, toffee and sweet caramel. Very sweet and boozy with bourbon, toffee and sweet caramel.

Pours black with a clear transparency. Light shines through the edges in clear hues. Head is less than a finger of khaki fizzy foam. Aroma is a swell of sugary notes - caramel, molasses, toffee, and milk chocolate, complimented by toasty, roasty, caramely, and earthy malts. It smells thick, deep, and dark. Bourbon, char, and barrel add further depth, carrying the nose through multiple levels. Flavor profile is caramel, molasses, toffee, milk chocolate, candied sugar, and syrup with roasty, toasty, caramely, and earthy malts firming up the back end. The syrupy sweet notes ring throughout, refraining from turning into a sticky, cloying mess, but not stopping short of letting their vibrancy be known. Barrel character pops through towards the end, displaying a bit of bourbon booze, and barrel char for depth. Mouth feel is thick with some creamy grit for the remainder of the consistency. Overall, depth is huge on this one, opening up with sugar notes, and ending with barrel char. The smooth and playful transition between the two is what bumps up the nuance and delicacy of each sip.

Served in a 15.5oz Speigalau tulip from a 500mL bottle.