English Barleywine 2017 - Tasting Notes

This is my fourth English Barleywine in a series of beers that I've brewed up on Memorial day going back to 2014 - I've made slight variations each year.  For this one I have used Wheat as a major component (20% of the grainbill) and have aged the beer on raisins soaked in rum for 5 months.  I will do a verical tasting to assess the differences between the beers next week.

Most of these have had same two basic goals:

• Light color
• Finishing Gravity in the mid 1.02s for body

In previous batches I've ended up both a bit darker than desired (due to extended boil) and a bit more attenuated than expected.  With this beer I've finally ended up with the right color and have gotten it to finish with the level of sweetness that I was hoping for.

I've been drinking this beer for the last month or so and have been really enjoying it (exclusively at cellar temperature - which this tasting is done at).

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Fruity yeast ester dominates - raisin-like.  Sweet malt mixed in.  Also get a bit of caramel.  No alcohol and no hops come through.  Has a very rich aroma.
• Appearance:
• Dark gold and quite clear.  Pours with a 3 finger head that quickly settles down to a thin ring.
• Flavor:
• Fruity up front with a sweet, rich, malt backbone.  The fruit is raisin-like.  The malt is a mix of bready wheat and caramel  It finishes with a bit of hop bitterness which provides some nice balance.  I get a bit of alcohol from the beer but it doesn't taste like a 10% ABV beer.  I don't really get any strong oak or rum character from the beer (these might just be well integrated with the other flavors) and the raisin could very well be intermingled with fruity yeast character.
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium bodied and little sticky on the palate.  Mild astringency on the finish (oak's contribution maybe).  A bit of warming alcohol as well.
• Overall:
• A complex Barleywine with a really lovely balance between fruity yeast and sweet malt.  I'm happy with the color and the balance of the beer at the higher FG (1.034).