Unsurprisingly, this brew appears to be related to Revolution’s Ryeway to Heaven, which I absolutely love — except, per your review, this one sounds even better!
From 2019, the espresso has all but disappeared but it is still very tasty. I hope they re brew this one.
Tonight I have one from 2020, the dumpster fire year. Fortunately there were beers like this that helped soften the stress. Oddly enough I don’t think I have a ‘21 variant for tomorrow. I’ll check. Cheers!
From last night. 2023 Endolith from Jackie O's. This is what one hopes from aging for a few years. Smoother than it was fresh. Any harsh barrel notes are gone. Smooth caramel, raisin, figs, bourbon, and vanilla. Truly beautiful English barleywine.
2019 Grey Monday can. 19.2% ABV. I honestly never meant to age this, but it was always a daunting beer to grab at the size and ABV. Tastes much like I remember. Hazelnut and loads of bourbon. Chocolate, dark fruit, slight soy sauce note, and some molasses. Smooth.
2013 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot The first thing which impresses me is the head on this 13 year old beer. I've seen many references to SN being the best in the business regarding packaging and this is further evidence for me on that front. This is drinking quite well. No harshness or any other 'off' characteristics I've come across on beers of this age. @Beersnake remarked that this vintage is possibly his favorite until 2026. I can see why he is saying this. This is fantastic. Need to check the cellar if any others left!
2015 Expedition Stout from Bell's. Kept in cellar conditions. Poured at cellar temp. Almost zero carbonation and no noise when the cap came off. The nose is soy sauce, coffee, roasted malts, and chocolate. Some fruit in there, but it's a bit overshadowed by the soy sauce. The taste is much better than the nose would suggest. Roasted malts, molasses, black licorice, dark chocolate, coffee grounds, and black currants. Tastes great. Overall, this is light years away from the taste when it's fresh. The lack of carbonation intensifies the molasses and licorice notes. Regardless, this is great stuff.
2016 Thomas Hardy's Ale. I picked this up when released in Europe. Pours with very little carbonation. Nose is great. Toffee candy, grapefruit, leather, grass, and lots of malts. The taste is wonderful. Plums, raisins, sponge toffee, vanilla, malts, pear, and honey. Lovely.
Stille Nacht from 2020. From De Dolle in Belgium. One of the best Belgian pale strong ales out there. 12% ABV. This has aged beautifully. Sweet caramel and apricot, along with honey, a touch of banana, orange cream, and vanilla. Lovely.
2021 Bell’s Expedition Stout A little rougher with more oxidation and soy sauce but still great dark malt, coffee, roast, and dark caramel flavors. Cheers BA’s!
2019 KBS My last bomber of this local favorite. I might have some 2019 12 oz bottles left that I am tempted to try side by side with fresh, just for fun. Cheers!
I'm a bit shocked that I haven't reviewed this before. I feel like I did, but somehow my review was deleted. I bought this when it was released in 2015 as I was a member of the Reserve Society at the time. Anyway, this is Cuivre from the Bruery. This is The Bruery’s 7th anniversary ale and it is 100% ale aged in Bourbon Barrels. 16.2% ABV. Poured at fridge temp. Pours an opaque brown with no head. The nose is caramel candy, malts, leather, slight oxidation, boozy bourbon, and some dark fruit. The taste is fantastic. Figs, prunes, raisins, toffee pudding, vanilla, bourbon, and some brown sugar. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice toffee and bourbon aftertaste. This is tasting great. 4.31/5 rDev -1.1% look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2014 Bigfoot. Poured at fridge temp, but tasted over a while to see how things change as it warms. The nose is classic Bigfoot - sharp hoppy bitterness, with a nice layer of malts. Biscuits, caramel, pine, and plums. The taste is excellent. Still has that characteristic hoppy bitterness. Grapefruit peel, slight pine needle, apricot, leather, caramel, and malts. Lovely.
2014 Adam from Hair of the Dog. Batch 91. Cap popped off without a sound. totally still on the pour. The nose is full of rich molasses, dark toffee, slight soy sauce, and dark malts. The taste is really nice. Spicy. Dark malts, molasses, brown sugar, leather, and some charred wood. Quite bitter on the aftertaste. Honesty, I have liked older and younger batches a bit more than this one. Still enjoyable.
Rodenbach 2022 Vintage Oak Aged Ale (Barrel no 157) Flanders Red, March 2026 incredible balance for a sour, barrelling helped round it out. Flanders red assertive in aftertaste but hold back initially. red coloured body. In a word, balance. 3.95 rated.
2013 J.W. Lees Harvest Ale. Tasting great. Actually quite sweet. That classic Harvest Ale taste is there - kind of a smoky figs type thing. Toffee, bread, plums, light chocolate, and vanilla pudding.
Binkie Claws from Hair of the Dog and De Molen. This was a cool collaboration back in 2015 where they changed up the Doggie Claws barleywine recipe a bit. This is also much higher ABV at 13.4%. I think I have one bottle left after this. The nose is rich toffee, figs, honey, and plums. Little to no hop presence, which is typical for Doggie Claws. The taste is fantastic. 11 years old and still great. Toffee, slight hops, plums, raisins, and oak. Malty for sure. This is currently landing right in the middle of an American and English barleywine.
Borg Brugghus Surtur 8.15 icelandic stout 13.0 Iceland, lot cheaper to have their beer here. Private buying club order, cellared since release of January 2022, shared March 2026 on cold -12 C night, that's like 12 F. Sugary rum on stout base with above average mouthfeel. Decent sipper. Rated average for Imperial stouts.
