UPDATED: MAY 10, 2021 2015 vintage. Mostly-clear copper-toffee with a whisp of lingering head. Faint apple cider vinegar overlaid on toffee and fudge aroma. Low carbonation, but surprisingly has a bit despite the age. Caramel, maple syrup, a little apple flesh and hints of leather. Almonds in the finish, and suggestions of cigarette smoke in the aftertaste to draw a line beneath the sweetness. Lush rare barrel-aged barleywine.

UPDATED: JAN 31, 2021 2013 vintage. Virtually no head from a vigorous pour. Dark brown from the front, orange-red with a backlight. No carbonation visible. The thin ring of off-white foam will leave some dots and loops of lacing if you tip the glass. Aroma takes some drawing out (likely due to the complete lack of head), but is very nice. Molasses, raisins, some alcohol. Taste is exquisite. Leather, raisins, other fruit flavors (perhaps apple), tannin, brandy, sweet malts, and more. Quite complex. Beers with flavors this complex exceed my ability to parse out all the elements without seeming ridiculous or pretentious. Suffice it to say as at the beginning: exquisite. The finish is semi-sweet, moderated by the tannin. Mouth feel is substantial - viscous and chewy. The alcohol and tannin add some zip to the feel, which keeps things from feeling flat. Overall, outstanding.

UPDATED: NOV 2, 2020 275ml bottle online from Rad Beer. 2015 vintage bottle sampled last weekend. Pours hazy golden brown with a few bubbles of beige head. Aroma: sweet grains, caramel, molasses, calvados barrel. Taste: heavy sweet. Rich, more sweet grains & cereal malts, apple brandy, dried fruits, molasses, caramel. Medium to full body with low carbonation. Nice complexity, it's lasted well

UPDATED: JAN 18, 2020 2012 vintage drunk 2020. Thin off white collar on an unclear light rust coloured still body. Syrup, sherry & brandy aroma. Medium to full bodied, oily, greasy, minimal carbonation & slick on the back leaving a cloying aft. Port, berries, syrup, jam, nutty & brandy tastes - Definately picking up the Calvados which is an Apple Brandy from Brittany in France.

UPDATED: NOV 12, 2019 250 ml bottle. 2017 vintage. Pours a clear reddish brown with almost no head and quite a bit of sediment for a small bottle.. Aromas of dry caramel, boozy oak, and toasted malts. Flavors of maple syrup, woody calvados, raisins, and rich roasted malts. Pronounced alcohol on the finish.

UPDATED: NOV 3, 2019 Amber-chestnut pour. Apple, wood, nuts... but with a bitter, unpleasant finish. Perhaps just not aged right? Too bad...

UPDATED: APR 18, 2019 2012 edition, 275 ml. Pours cloudy dark amber with a thin, light tan head. Aroma is candy sugar, brandy and dried fruit. Taste is raisin and rich caramel, moving to apples, light nuts and wood. Finish is all apple brandy. A well done barley wine.

UPDATED: FEB 28, 2019 This 275ml bottle was brewed in 2008! cellared for the last 8 or so. Had no idea what to expect. Appearance: pours brown with little or no head. just a tan ring is left around the glass which persists. the beer is very cloudy with visible sediment (yeast, I imagine) floating around when held up to the light. Aroma: bold dark fruits (mostly raisins), molasses, lots of calvados apple brandy boozyness. a hint of oxidation. Taste: lots of candy sugar sweetness combined with caramelly apples, toffee and grassyness (hops?). Palate: creamy, sticky texture. full bodied with light carbonation and pronounced astringency. finishes with long lingering sweetness and alcohol warmth and astringency Overall: probably one of the most complex beers I've ever tasted. due to its overwhelming sweetness, not necessarily my cup of tea, lots of stuff going on...

UPDATED: FEB 20, 2019 275ml bottle @ monthly tasting, Chez Sophie, Feb '19. Thanks Paul for this. Pours misty amber, foamy off-white head. Cobwebs on the nose. Fairly rich taste, big syrupy teeth-rattling sweetness, cardboard, cobwebs, dust, high oxidisation. Seems a bit past it unfortunately. Hard to finish my sample.

UPDATED: JUL 26, 2019 2015 vintage. 20Jan2019 Sweet grain malts, molasses, grain and cereal malts, caramel, light calvados. Hazy brown, small, creamy, beige head. Heavy sweet. More sweet grain and cereal malts, calavados, apple brandy, molasses, caramel, sweet, candied apple, soft carbonation, full bodied. Very nice, rich and complex. Bottle from RAD Beer, Hadnall. 4.0 2012 vintage. 13Jul2019 Sweet grain and cereal malts, caramel, molasses, sweet oak. Hazy gold, small, creamy, off-white head. Medium sweet. More caramel, molasses, sweet grain and cereal malts, cardboard, oxidised malts, soft carbonation, full bodied. Didn't age well. Bottle from radbeer.com. 3.3