The color is a cloudy reddish brown. Weyerbacher's web site calls it copper, and I can't argue with that.
The head is thin, white, and doesn't last long.
The aroma is sweet, caramel, and pleasant.
The flavor starts with a very slight touch of hops, a stronger caramel sweetness, and a bit of alcohol warmth. The finish is warming and reminds me of molasses. All in all, it's very pleasant.
Rate Beer gives this one a 96 overall and an 83 for the style. Beer Advocate is much tougher, with the "Bros" giving it a 65 (poor) and the others giving it an 83 or "good". I would imagine this has something to do with Weyerbacher intentionally trying to brew a British style balanced barleywine where hops doesn't overwhelm the rest of the flavors. They've achieved that goal here.
I usually don't like Barleywine ales. They tend to be very strong, unpleasantly hoppy, and not to my taste. This one, however, is actually very good. I would happily drink more of this. Given that, I'm rating it 8/10 because it's what I'd like more barleywines to be like.
ABV: 11.1%
IBU: Unknown, but I'd rate it about 19
My Rating: 8/10
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