Pours a nice rich amber brown minimal head. What little head that is present tends to cling to the side of the glass but has minimal lacing.
The first sniff gives me a camel sweet smell with a hint of fruit.
Taste is a lot like the smell, lots of caramel, a hint of spice and fruit that gives it a sweetness. The rye bread taste comes out in a nice balanced way. Has a warming feel to it as you drink it.
A: Clear, golden brown or deep mahogany. Small tan foam quickly dispates.
S: Raisins or prunes or figs in caramel malt. Sweet and full, I'm not picking up the rye but fellow travelers did.
T: Dry and not sweet were my first impression. Full mouthfeel, not in a cloying way, and low carbonation. There's kind of a spiciness, then some light vanilla. You know the alcohol is there
D: This reminds me of a very high end scotch, from a small unknown distillery. No questions that it is a well crafted brew made with fine ingredients. The rye likely brings down the sweetness levels into a dry, clean, and crisp taste. No gimmicks here, just a straight forward adult beverage.
One of the 300 or so from the original release in 2010.
Pours clear with barely any foam on top, therefore no retention and lacing.
Aroma is toffee sweet, rye spice, and some alcohol, that can be strong at times. Prune dark fruits are on the back side. No hops that I could tell unless they were of the spice variety and hidden by the rye.
Taste is smooth up front with some sweetness from the malt. Rye flavor build from the middle throughout, culminating in the finish with a bit of smoke. Prunes show in the middle with a sprinkle of vanilla.
Thick, sticky body that fills the mouth, while there is almost no carbonation. Dries out a bit.
The rye is a nice twist to the barleywine while the sweetness in the aroma is well balanced by a dryness to the finish. The alcohol is rather mellow, but the rye spice does build after a while. Enjoy!
Classic Amber Brown, clear translucence. Slightest hair line head clinging to edges. Aroma: Rye up front, with sweet malt and alcohol. Prunish aroma and caraway spice? It smells great.
Taste: Great. Rye contributes that unique dryish flavor, smokey prunishness apparent. Fruity sweetness perfectly smooths alcohol. Alcohol has a hint of vanilla. Very smooth, easy to drink. Great beer.