LIC Beer Project Barley Wine

Aroma: “A fun combination of pine resin, toast, caramel, some banana, and even a touch of smoke and tobacco. There’s an undertone of dank hops and a big, boozy grip as well.” Flavor: “The malt focuses largely on caramel but there’s some roast in there, too, along with strong earthy and pine hops flavor and fairly big bitterness. There’s a sherry-like oxidation and a woody, tobacco note as well that gives it some sweetness, but not in a cloying way.” Overall: “An aggressively hopped barley wine—think of this as West Coast—that starts with malt complexity and ends with a hot alcohol note and a lingering bitterness that leaves the tongue wanting of a good scraping.”

**Aroma:** “Citrus orange and slight pine accompany big caramel, toffee, and plum, with moderate cherry and light alcohol warmth. There’s almost some graham cracker.” **Flavor:** “A nice caramel, toasty, nutty sweetness carries through from start to finish of the sip and blends well with the juicy orange and slight grapefruit hops character. Alcohol warmth is present and carries through in the finish along with some peppery notes.” **Overall:** “This barleywine with big malt and strong alcohol notes was put together well. The malt character and hops worked, and the beer was big but not at the expense of drinkability. The malty component is quite nice and balanced with moderate American hops. The malt and hops profiles are straightforward with nice caramel malt and piney bitterness.”

“Aroma is intense, rich, vinous booze but has layers of definitively beer-like honey-tinged sweetness. Even the spicy aromas are complex. Gooey raisins and sticky dates. The roasted character comes in with loads of brownie batter, blackberries, bourbon, and a hint of cinnamon and black pepper at the finish. Port and sherry alcohol lingers through the finish. Nothing singular.”