Old Herb Barleywine
On tap at the brewery on 1/29/11 during the imperial russian stout release. Served in a 1/4 filled "fish bowl" oversized snifter. It appears a hazed amber brown color. A finger's worth of tan fluffy head appears and holds decent with spotty lace clinging on to the glass. The aroma is sweet, almost candy-like with an interesting twist of citrus that smells like oranges. Some light yeast notes come through the sweetness with a light touch of sulfur. Overall sweet smelling with a tingly fusel alcohol presence. The taste of this brew is bitey with a bold warming fusel taste of alcohol that is partially hidden by the residual sweetness. This brew is a constant struggle inside of my mouth of sweetness verse bitterness. Orange rind and yeast are present and mark this brew as quite an original take on the style. This is a full bodied brew with a moderate amount of carbonation. Very warming and bold with alcohol that's met with hoppy herbal bitterness. Faintly oxidized adding to the complexity. It will be interesting to see how this brew developes, it needs to meld a little more for me to fully enjoy it but it certainly is an interesting brew you should give a try.