One Way Ticket
Freddo Fox

brought this little gem back from spain in may, pouring into glassware we also bought at the brewery, feeling pretty good about myself. cool artsy little can with a black top, they call this a mediterranean barleywine, a term i have never heard of before, but its super clever and very distinctive, even if it might have been a little better newer, always weird ageing beer in cans, even for a short while. its made with oats and wheat in addition to the barley, which rounds it out a lot, adds body and softness, and makes it really wide, long and slow to taste on, much going on, neat grain build on this. its also brewed with raisins and dates and figs, not totally uncommon, dogfish olde school comes to mind, but the addition of cocoa nibs as well makes this especially unique! lightly hazy, deep auburn to mahogany color, frothy headed too, but there are sediment flakes all though it, and the bottom inch of the can is disgusting, undrinkable, hazy, gloopy, thick trub, just nasty, which is a shame because there is already so little beer in this can. good thing whats in the glass is amazing, slight tang to it in aroma and flavor, lots of sugar too, and somehow not all that alcoholic for how strong it is. the raisin rises above the other dried fruits, but leather and wet soil and milled lumber all come to my palate, brown sugar and toffee and maple syrup, a light candied citrus thing, and bready ale yeast on display. the cocoa hits late, kind of has its own little moment, bittersweet and earthy before the swallow, balancing this beautifully and adding some clever complexity, neat proportions to this, hints of red wine and ruby port late too, and its wintery and layered, not forced, weirdly well refined in the glass for how nasty the bottom of the can is, and a standout as one of the more unique beers we had in a very heady barleywine lineup last night. glad i brought this back, very cool beer, that added ingredients make this pretty much one of a kind, the nibs are brilliant!