From Apr 2008 This pours a clear amber gold with a small head of foam that shrinks quickly to just some spotting in the middle and a ring around the glass. There's some lacing here. The smell is very fruity with plum dominating my nosebud. I also get some sweet malt and some candy sugar. The taste is....well..very nice. Dark fruit, mainly plum, minty(I didn't believe it would be but, yes), a touch of sour, some hoppy bitterness, maybe a bit of cinnamon. This is a pretty complex son of a gun and I didn't expect it to be so as I *just* finished trying their Nutbrown Ale and it didn't do much for me at all. More sips in and I'm starting to dig the flavours big time. Lots of sweet malt that are now very well balanced with piney hops that I didn't notice much in the initial taste. Wow. This is seriously a very good tasting BWSA. The abv is 11% and it does very little to show itself in the taste or during and after the swallow. I think Grand Lake hit a real home run here! Nice medium full to full mouthfeel, low carbonation, and a very nice piney finish. I'm glad I have another 4 bottles as I'm interested as to what some aging will do but....imho, this one is ready to drink as is. My hat's off to Grand Lake!! Bottom line: I'm so glad I picked up the bottles of this that I did as I find it a most interesting and unusual example of the style that never loses my interest during the entire session. Highly recommended!

Rich barley wine, dark coloured. Ageing served it well, a good blending of malt. Above average mouthfeel.

Sampled in a bomber that was served chilled. Big time carbonation for a barleywine was the biggest call out. A nicely made brew that goes down nicely as a sipping brew.

Clear dark amber with a thin foamy beige head. Big fruity malty nose of delicious barleywine goodness. Figs and dates, raisins and boozy toffee on the nose. Flavor of the same. Lots of boozy sugar cane with dates and figs and almonds and dark cherries and earthy sweet toffee. Wonderful.

1/15 - Dark brown hue with light carbonation. Aromas are light, some wood, vanilla, plum. Palate is creamy upfront, bitterness from the fading hops wrap around the outside edge and finish with a short brown sugar edge. It’s really basic older American-style barleywine. I can tell where this one was when fresh, but nothing sticks out as this being an above average offering. Not nearly as bad as I thought, drinkable, but at the end of its first plateau decline. ABV is very well hidden for 11% and that it is from 2009 lead me to believe that this one was overdue. This one gets a 8/20 another 6-8 months and this one would be close to drain pour.

Poured a deep brown, very reminiscent of coca-cola. Absolutely no head. Aroma is toffee, caramel, bourbon, wood, raisins, and alcohol. Taste is bourbon, plum, caramel, and ends with a slight alcohol burn. No carbonation, which is kind of a downer for me. Very unbalanced barley wine. I will have to try this again because of the rest of the ratings I am seeing. I wonder if I got a bad bottle.

Bottle @ Aarons place, Thanks. Pours slightly hazy brown, no head. Aroma is malty, caramel, dry wood, nuts. Taste is rather dry with malt, caramel, dry wood, nutty, light hops. Medium body, low carbonation, dry finish. 020312

Bottle @ home. Deep brown appearance with a light brown head. Very rich caramel, somewhat fruity, floral hoppy aroma. Pretty dry, floral, red fruity, caramel flavor with a fairly dry finish. Ok.

bottle. pours dark brown with small head. aroma of candied sugar, burnt toast, a touch of licorice, and some raisin. flavor is quite similar, and is a touch too sweet. bold prune and raisin come out initially, with some hints of tobacco in the finish. slightly warming, but not overly boozy by any means. that said, it was a tad cloying...not bad...thin body

Pours hazy reddish black with off white head, aroma has notes of toffee, brown sugar, some slight chocolate, pine and citrus notes in there as well, no alcohol. Taste is pretty smooth but not overly flavorful, notes of pine and citrus, some nice vanilla, brown sugar, toffee, with a slight pine bitterness, finishing bitter. Again no alcohol in there, pretty tasty.