English Barleywine (2018 Version) - Tasting Notes

I brewed this English Barleywine based on the Original Famous Thomas Hardy's Barleywine from the Famous "Shut Up about Barclay Perkens" Blog.  The recipe interested me due to it's heavy bittering (68 IBU) and very high fermentation temperature (73 F).  I followed the recipe in both of these specification and, prior to aging, the beer was rough around the edges.  After four months bulk aging with a bit of toasted oak I found it has softened significantly and the flavors were mellowed and melded nicely.

This is the fifth beer in a series of Barleywine I've brewed on the last five Memorial days.  I believe this is the best EBW I've made so far.

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Fruity ester is the most dominant aroma followed by caramel and toasted bread.  I get a bit of herbal and tea like hop aroma.  I think I pick up a bit of oak.  Alcohol comes though as well.
• Appearance:
• Dark brownish-red.  Pours with a 5 finger head (was pretty aggressive with the pour this time).  Foam fades down to less than a finger pretty quickly and then lingers through most of the glass.  Leaves lacing.  The beer is very clear.
• Flavor:
• Caramel and malt flavor take the lead in the flavor.  Has a bit of a graham cracker taste to it.  The finish has a lot of fruity ester flavor along with a kick of bitterness.  The fruit is raisin like.  There is a bit of hop flavor mixed in as well as a bit of alcohol.
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium to full bodied.  Has a bit of sweetness that leaves my mouth a bit sticky.  Slight alcohol warming is detected.  Smooth with no astringency.
• Overall:
• This has a lot going on between the malt and ester flavors.  These get along very well together and make for a nicely complex beverage.  It is a sweet beer but it's not cloying or difficult to drink.  I think the hop bitterness the beer has retained over the long aging does a nice job to balance the finish such that you're called to take another sip.  I think this was a very good recipe.  I think this one will age nicely and look forward to many more tastings.

I'm excited to try this against the 4 previous years English Barleywine.