Don't drink this fully refrigerated. It's all bitter chocolate and coffee roast. When it warms just a bit all kinds of complexity and sweetness come out. At the right temp it's beautiful.

Smells great, and it's refreshing. But every sip makes me wish it was an IPA.

Much better than it was a month ago. Nice and buttery.

Unknown date of consumption. Forgot to record an entry somewhere.

Holds up well but doesn't particularly benefit from ageing. Tastes the same as the 2018, which is to say excellent.

Unknown date of consumption. Forgot to record an entry somewhere.

Different than any previous year I remember. Smells like straight up whiskey, tastes like burnt caramel. It's not unpleasant but doesn't have the malty sweet richness I love. It's fresh, though. Needs some time to settle.

I thought it was great. Like CW, but without the bourbon and a little less woody. Not too sweet, plenty of earthy hop flavor. I need more descriptors. It was good. Like a really mellow fresh hop IPA but imperialized.

Very efficient. Doesn't quite have the Anti-Hero body but this could be my new standard at 6.2%. I wish Pipeworks would compete in this arena. No complaint, though. Doesn't taste thin like some and has plenty of pleasant bitterness. I'd like to try it really fresh to get a better handle on the hop character. Some pineapple aroma and citrus (not grapefruit so much) flavor. A nice modern IPA.

Hops came out much more with the Teku. My first real success with that glass.

Smells great, tropical fruit. But the caramel malt sweetness, as light as it is, is enough to mess with the flavors to the point where it doesn't taste all that hoppy. It doesn't fit the profile for most IPAs, so it probably has a niche. But I don't drink IPAs for the malt.

Cocoa powder. Less bourbon than I remember from the other bottle, wouldn't mind a little more. It also needs another month, at least, to settle in the bottle. But maybe the best vintage that I can remember.

The 2016 took a few months to get this good. This one is ready to go out of the gate. Chocolate bomb on the nose and tongue. Some coffee at the backend, too. More than I remember in other vintages. This is simply great. Reaffirms that I don't _need_ any other barrel stout.

Last 2015 bottle. Sigh.

Makes me reconsider my boycott of Goose Island.

Smells great, and it's refreshing. But every sip makes me wish it was an IPA.

Smells great, and it's refreshing. But every sip makes me wish it was an IPA.

Thick and rich. Reminded me of Silhouette, initially, with a little more coffee. But became a bit harsh once it warmed a little. I still liked it a lot.

Smells great, and it's refreshing. But every sip makes me wish it was an IPA.

So, this takes 2 or 3 years of aging to get it where I want it. The bite is gone, the heat is gone, so smooth and rich. Tastes unmistakably like a barleywine, and an American barleywine at that, but so well integrated. One of the few worth the cellar space. Sigh, not quite Straightjacket but half the price.

Life.

This was a little more woody tasting earlier on but now the sweeter stickiness is coming out just like you want from a barleywine.