The review:
Appearance:
Poured from a 12 oz stubby bottle into a wide snifter-like tulip glass. Beautiful, clear, deep coppery/amber with a nice collar of dense tan foam. Nice lacing.
Aroma:
Complex and inviting! Strong, spicy, citrus hop notes with a big, sweet, malty, caramel finish. Alcohol evident but not overpowering. Black cherry and deep/dark fruit overtones.
Flavor:
Tasty! Very sweet up front with a nice citrusy hop bite as the flavor develops across the palate. The fruity complexity in the nose carries directly to the flavor. Very well balanced for a big beer.
Mouthfeel:
Full bodied and well carbonated. Alcohol warmth is really only evident as an afterthought (especially if you exhale through your nose).
Drinkability:
I love this beer! For the style, it could be a quite a bit bigger, but it's well executed for its "size." I think I'd call it an IIPA that wound up a tad too dark rather than a barleywine. However, it's the best SN beer I've ever tasted. SNPA is good, but a little "vanilla," the porter and stout are overdone in terms of roasted flavor, and SNCA just isn't quite my thing. This is far from "vanilla," underdone if anything, and is definitely "my thing!" For a barleywine, it gets a solid B, but for a drinkable, balanced, rather big beer, it's an A+!