Aroma: “It started off mild and built into a nice combination of malt aromas that include the requisite nutty, caramel, toffee, and light roast. The hops are woody and spicy, and there’s alcohol evident, in a slightly sweet way.”

Flavor: “This shows signs of great aging with sherry and dates coming on strong and complemented by wet black malt, roast, earthy hops, medium bitterness, lots of alcohol, and finishing with a dessert-wine sweetness that stops just short of cloying. Throughout, there’s rich layers of chocolate, plums, dates, dried cherry, and other assorted fruits.”

Overall: “It’s a big, complex English-style barley wine with a sweet finish—a great beer to share with friends but one that might be harder to finish alone. It seems prime for aging, but the rich layers of malt and ester flavors offer no reason to wait. It’s not a subtle beer and doesn’t try to hide its strength. This is an after dinner, around the fireplace sipper.”