Goose Island - King Henry

Good evening, all! Assuming I counted correctly, this marks my 100th review! Yay! To celebrate, I wanted to open something special. I'd been trying to get my hands on this beer for awhile. Shortly after it was released last year, it wasn't too difficult to get. But once people started drinking it, they realized it was delicious and snatched up every last bottle. Since this only hit the midwest and northeast markets, trading was my only option, and at long last, a stellar east coast friend was able to send me a bottle last month.

King Henry is a 13.4% ABV barleywine that Goose Island says was "Aged in bourbon barrels, [and] is a burgundy hued English-style barleywine with aromas of vanilla, oak, and dark fruit. Caramel and toffee flavors blend together with bold notes of bourbon delivered in a smooth body followed by a malty finish. No matter the occasion, King Henry promises a regal drinking experience." I'd also like to add that this beer wasn't just thrown in any bourbon barrels; rather, it aged in Pappy Van Winkle 23 year barrels that Goose Island had previously used to age their Rare Bourbon County stout.

Appearance: From the side of the glass it appears dark, opaque brown, but from the top you can see that's actually clear, just extremely dark. There is very little head on the pour, and it receded to nothing in seconds. Swirling the beer in the glass leaves large legs running back down the sides. This even looks big in every way.

Smell: The nose on this is just insane. Toffee, caramel, spicy bourbon, vanilla, cherry, oak, cocoa, fig, and molasses. I can't even believe the complexity of the smell of this beer.

Taste: There is prominent spicy vanilla from the bourbon, as well as a big note of dark chocolate, sweet molasses, brown sugar, salt toffee, and dark fruit. There is a small hint of soy sauce, which some will say is a negative, but I've never really minded it.

Mouthfeel: Thick and sparingly carbonated, this has all the weight of a melted chocolate milkshake, but packs surprisingly little heat, considering the alcohol percentage.

Overall: This is a massive barleywine that is, without question, the best barelywine I've tasted to date. The barrel treatment definitely imparted some flavor from the Rare Bourbon County Stout, which lent some fantastically unique (to the style) bitter/dark chocolate flavor, which actually helped balance some of the typical barleywine sweetness. This beer has a lot of hype and huge fans, so I don't really need to go on and on about how great it is -- but it is great.

5/5