Really good. Reminds me of Backwoods. Plenty of whiskey and char from the barrel. Has a slight honey sweetness I wish wasn't there. Love trying any bourbon barrel scotch ale, especially when they reward me.

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.

As advertised. Whiskey, pumpkin, and spices. Not my cup of tea. Fun to try.

Better now than at 3 days old. About 2 weeks out it hits its peak and sits there for a while.

Certainly no worse after a few weeks. Probably better.

Taste profile is cleaned up. Much more bitter, surprisingly so.

It's actually a bit too fresh. Smells amazing and explodes with good hops, plus it's smooth. But a little unfocused and seems like it needs to settle.

Muted at refrigerator temp. Musty, smoky, not too sweet. Has a surprising hop? bitterness to it, but not overpowering. Very smooth. Hits all the right notes for a drinkable scotch ale.

Pure grapefruit this time with some malty depth out of the IPA glass. Don't pass up NvU for this.

Much better out of the Speigelau IPA glass. The piney bitterness of the hops come through. Also less sweet. Might have been the pairing of the food, Indian curry this time, but I think the glass played a large part.

Big grapefruit, maltier than I expected. I need to try a different glass. Sweeter than it should be at <8%. It's a solid IPA but maybe I'm just spoiled.

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.

Has a woody hop character I didn't care for. A little softer than the non BA version. No heat at all but it's not particularly high abv for a barlyewine. Lower than the reg version??? Maybe don't age this one. Not worth the price at $25. #regret I've been consistently underwhelmed by Great Divide. They're just not aiming at my palate. Reg Old Ruffian at 1 year old is my jam, though.

Better now than at 3 days old. About 2 weeks out it hits its peak and sits there for a while.

Certainly no worse after a few weeks. Probably better.

Taste profile is cleaned up. Much more bitter, surprisingly so.

It's actually a bit too fresh. Smells amazing and explodes with good hops, plus it's smooth. But a little unfocused and seems like it needs to settle.

Pure grapefruit this time with some malty depth out of the IPA glass. Don't pass up NvU for this.

Much better out of the Speigelau IPA glass. The piney bitterness of the hops come through. Also less sweet. Might have been the pairing of the food, Indian curry this time, but I think the glass played a large part.

Big grapefruit, maltier than I expected. I need to try a different glass. Sweeter than it should be at <8%. It's a solid IPA but maybe I'm just spoiled.

Basically like drinking a Jack & Coke. Tons of whiskey flavor and aroma. No head or lacing to speak of but feels kind of rough in the mouth. I wish the carbonation was softer. Hard to speak to the base beer but it's plenty sweet and smooth in its own way. Just the right viscosity, too. It's not exorbitantly expensive so I have no regrets.

Holds up well so far. I have heard that strawberry drops off quickly in beer, but not yet. Really good, wouldn't mind if they brought it back every year.

Turbid. Smells great, like strawberry jelly. Maybe influence a bit by the actual strawberry jelly in my sandwich? Rhubarb comes across much more in the flavor. Took me a bit to parse the flavors, at first I was just expecting massive strawberry, then it seemed like it just wasn't a fresh fruit flavor. The rhubarb covers up a lot of the maltiness so it ends up tasting more like spritzer than beer. And at 4% you can basically drink it that way. Interested to see how much it will settle, although it's bottle conditioned. I can't put this up with Serendipity but I like it as much as the Belgian Red.

Pure grapefruit this time with some malty depth out of the IPA glass. Don't pass up NvU for this.

Much better out of the Speigelau IPA glass. The piney bitterness of the hops come through. Also less sweet. Might have been the pairing of the food, Indian curry this time, but I think the glass played a large part.

Big grapefruit, maltier than I expected. I need to try a different glass. Sweeter than it should be at <8%. It's a solid IPA but maybe I'm just spoiled.