Of age

It's only Tuesday, so just a modest celebration for this blog's 21st anniversary. I've pulled out a bottle of Insulator, a barrel-aged barley wine released last winter by Lineman. I've had a differently-barrelled version of this before, back in 2021, and this one is Margaux wine. The ABV remains a decidedly wintery 14.8%.

The visuals aren't lovely. It's a muddy red-brown, though has a tight snowy head on top. The aroma makes it very clear that wine is involved, smelling richly of plums and raisins. A warming, fresh-baked cookie waft is present too. The fruity high notes take a backseat in the flavour, which pushes dark warming cake or pudding first, then bitter liquorice and nutmeg spice. After that, the fruit is back: sultana and orange peel, with a little fresher raspberry tartness. Not that this is in any way a summer beer. The booze isn't exactly concealed, and the malt is concentrated and emphasised, exactly as the words "barley wine" imply.

It could have done with a bit more cleaning up, and maybe some more time settling would have taken care of that, as would a larger-format bottle. It's still very good, however: packed with complexity and working well as a special occasion beer.