From Powell Street Craft Brewery in East Vancouver comes their "4TH ANNIVERSARY ALE" a barleywine aged in oak barrels with brettanomyces. They made 4 barrels of this beer and in the end did not blend them so all 4 beers are quite different. This review is of a bottle of 3 of 4 barrels as I was told this was the funkiest of the 4. This was bottle 64 of 266. The beer pours a deep chestnut brown with cloudiness and a tan head. The aroma consists of big funkiness, dark fruits, toffee, caramel, brown sugar and sweetness. The flavour is of brett funk, dark fruits, toffee, treacle, brown sugar, roasted malts, oak, earth, bitterness and alcohol. The alcohol content comes in at 10.4% with an IBU of 44. I had this beer on tap at the brewery and also this bottle and being a huge barleywine fan I was very excited about how this beer turned out. Not only was it a great barleywine but the Brettanomyces really added some amazing character and Brett is not often added to this style for some reason.
Commercial Description: Our fourth anniversary ale is a Barleywine aged for 18 months in French oak barrels with Brettanomyces Bruxellensis and Brettanomyces Lambicus. A pleasant and distinct funky aroma leads into flavours of dried dark stone fruits and umami overtones which are then complemented with a dry sherry-like finish.
