Stubborn 11.5% alcohol invades 9.3-ounce bottle of marvelous reddish amber Calvados cask barleywine. Deep whiskey malt thickness and succinct bruised orange follow-up provide creamy cognac assertion to candied medicinal finish.

Weak barleywine-styled celebrator needs better dimension, resonance, warmth, and bourbon-burgundy boozing to compete favorably in exulted class. Tangy cherry, quince, apricot, and pear murk overlays brown chocolate malting, but red-fruited nature dries up prematurely.

Thickly syrupy alcohol-soaked ruby brown barleywine scatters prune-fig-raisin thicket atop deep molasses bottom, picking up milk chocolate and dry cocoa notes to rum-spiced finish. Tangy black cherry, grape, and melon core usurps burnt sugar center as toasted hop bittering surges.

Uncompromising 11.5% alcohol-laden aged barleywine retains luscious creamy richness and chewy butterscotch center culminating sweet bourbon warmth. Thickest syrupy Scotch malting coats floral honeysuckle-dandelion dalliance and candy-sugared medicinal nuance bracing bruised cherry, ripe raisin, curacao orange, and purple grape illusions, gaining fulsome aggressive prominence to everlasting liqueur finish. Luxuriant slow sipping masterpiece provides awesome buzz.

Acrid ruby-hued, chestnut-highlighted British barleywine replete with dewy peat dankness, earthen minerality and leafy hops differs substantially from fruitier American versions. Chocolate-nosed cereal graining and resinous pine bittering drop off precipitously to off-dry cherry-grapefruit-orange souring. Inconspicuous light-bodied nature lessens effectiveness. More complete 2012 version retained milder seduction as pliable walnut-pecan husk seeped deeper into subsidiary apple-fig-grape desiccation.

Prominent black cherry frontage shelters bittersweet black chocolate surge of delectable full-bodied barleywine. Dry port midst recedes to acetous burgundy finish. Delicate mineral water current never impedes robustness.

Enticing ruddy-hued ruby-highlighted Fuggle-hopped “mellow golden” retains heady barleywine thickness and edgy brandy tinge well suited for 8.5% alcohol rigidity. Chewy caramel malting centers dried prune-raisin influx, maraschino cherry seduction, sour apple tartness, meager pecan flurry and receding orange marmalade tinge. Sherry, Merlot, and port wine illusions bedeck dry finish.

Matured in whisky casks, sweet sticky ale meshes ashy moss earthiness with orange-bruised cherry tang. Herbal nuance punctuates overripe tangerine-peach punch. Arguably the best of ’03s cask conditioned bunch.

In teensy 7-ounce bottle, rapturous well-aged crustacean meshes syrupy yeast sugaring, brown-sugared black molasses malts, and spiced hops for thick resilience closer to Ipswich Dark Ale than typical barleywine. Mouth-watering caramelized barley sweetness, musty port-like fruitiness and light vanilla creaming strengthen full-bodied alcoholic fervor. Delicate red grape, raisin, plum and date illusions fill the backdrop. On tap, kirsch-whiskeyed cherry jubilee finish emboldens perfect winter warmer nightcap.

Stimulatingly hearty dark amber barleywine features oodles of brown-sugared yeast sediment and whiskey malt pungency. Prune-y chocolate creaminess intrudes frisky floral-hopped bouquet to impressive cherry-cognac finish. Detailed robust ‘seasonal’ gains medicinal warmth as it mellows down slowly.

Handmade auburn-hued San Franciscan hits frontal lobe quickly with honeyed fruit prevalence, succulent whiskey-cognac sweetness, and spice-hopped codicil. Roasted malt foundation anchors zesty bruised cherry surge and red grape-apricot-raisin dip. Flush barleywine finish provokes comparison to bolder French-Belgian ales with higher aspirations.