“Limited release vintage Barley Wine celebrating Epic’s 10th Birthday and their 1000 batch brew at Steam brewing. Complex layers of dried fruit, sherry and spice, will age a treat! Hand wrapped and sealed with wax.”
Served in a snifter. It hits the glass with that sexy mahogany hue that’s covered by a wispy overlay. It peels back to a ring which leaves a streaky lace sticking to the walls of the glass.
And bam! That extreme, but never cloying, sweetness fills the nostrils with gingerbread, port, raisins, toffee, spice, apricot jam, fig and super sweet residual sugars. To save us from writing an essay we’ll just say that once it begins to come up to room temperature it really opens up about its complexities. Ooph! What an aroma.
It’s not often that the flavour of a beer upstages the aroma but we’re almost certain that’s the case here. It initiates with this absolutely heavenly caramel/toffee sweetness that’s supported by fortified wine, spice and stewed stonefruits. The warmth from the booze (10%) hugs the palate midway and coaxes out a somewhat sharp hint of Mead along with dates, maple syrup and caramelised sugars that extend far past the finish. Incredible length on display here.
Super sticky texture, almost chewy in the mouth. Full body with low co2 and a very well concealed 60 IBU.
Quite a remarkable barleywine indeed. We’re actually confident in saying that it is the best barleywine we’ve ever had the luxury of drinking….simply can not fault it. One word of advice to the brewers….. drop the bloody wax seal tops! OK they look impressive but we value our fingers way too much!