It was not awesome. I only realized just after pulling the cork that this was a 2003 vintage beer, questionable even for a 13% barley wine, but here we have a 9% ABV stout. It's 8 years old, and just past its prime.
This beer poured inky black, a good start! But when I saw almost zero head, I was suspicious. On the nose, dried purple fruit and balsamic vinegar...I tentatively sipped and was met with aggressive sour cherry character, more vinegar and sherry. The sherry notes were actually not bad, but they were way to strong, and with everything else going on, it was just undrinkable. And I tried, I choked down about a third of it before it was pitched in the kitchen sink.
I like where they were headed with this beer, but it was just too far gone. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for a 2008+ vintage. So for being absolutely awful and still making me want to try another one, I award 2 out of 10.
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