beer_name: 30th Anniversary - Jack & Ken's Ale
text: Appearance - Dark brown with a thick khaki head. Looks good Smell - When I uncorked the bottle I was hit with an incredible brown sugar smell. I was so excited. But once I poured it into my snifter all pleasant aroma was lost. It was kind of...bland once poured. Low hops for the style. Taste - Weak. Surprisingly weak for a barleywine. There was some maltiness, some dried fruits, but little hops for the style. Maybe a little caramel and chocolate malts, but it was faint if it was there. Mouthfeel - Far to thin for the style. A barleywine should be beefy and bold feeling. This was water and wimpy Drinkability - I won't be revisiting this one if that tells you anything. The best I can say is this is a gateway barleywine...an introduction to the style to a neophyte. There was no body and the taste just wasn't where it needed to be. This is just another example of a beer getting a good rating based on its brewer and not its merit. I'm so sick of brewers making "craft" beer of low quality. They are hurting the name of American beer just as much as the macros are. Stay away from this one. EDIT - After posting this I went and reviewed some others comments and I have to say...I think this beer is getting a high rating simply on its ability to get you drunk and not its flavor. Sure 10.2 is a respectable ABV, but when you have nothing to back that up where are we felt?