Dire Consequences
False Hope Brewing Co.

 

The pour is strong coffee brown with a narrow beige head that left sparse lacing.
The taste makes me wonder a bit; normally I rate mostly according to style, but truth be told, this isn’t much like a barleywine.
So here goes.
The taste is dominated by the “Christmas” spices: nutmeg and cloves and vanilla and a hint of cinnamon. The barleywine aspect is very submerged in these spices. It’s almost like they expected it to be heated and consumed warm, like a mulled wine.
The feel is viscous, almost the very definition of the word.
OA, I enjoyed it, just not sure it’s true to style.

 

Poured from a can. Strong vanilla. Fairly syrupy. Not completely opaque. Thin, soapy head. Smells like gingerbread and eggnog. Sugar explosion. Very sweet. Molasses mellows out the mulling spices and the alcohol. Warm burn on the end. Decent mouth feel. Very little residue on the tongue. Very good gentle sipper on a cold night with the fire going. Bought a four pack. Will save the rest for Christmas. Interesting talking point.

Pours a dark brown color with a minimal tan head that lasts quite a while. Aroma is dark fruit. Taste is sweet, almost brown sugar sweet from the molasses. Smooth and creamy with a nice alcohol warmth at the finish.

Way cloying slop with excess adjuncts. Hard to find a proper Barleywine these days and this ain’t it. Enjoyable for a few ounces but it just goes way past into the realms of super sticky sickly sweet and frankly not worth the calories. If you must get a can and share it with 1-2 others.