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.”