Wooden Ship Imperial Beer

Wooden Ship Imperial Beer.

9.7% ABV, Wooden Ship Brewing, Minneapolis, MN. Canned 6/28/21. 

And here we have a beer I tried for the first time at Wooden Ship Brewery a little over two months ago. I bought this crowler some weeks after that and it's about time I opened it and drank the dang thing. 

When I had this beer for the first time, the server told me "it's almost a barleywine." A curious thing to say. Once I tasted it, I couldn't have agreed with him more. Now to see if I can use words to describe this. 

Clear, bright crimson, slim ring of foam. 

In the nose: a bit sweet and caramel-y, a little fruity, but mostly quiet. 

In the mouth: Burst of malty flavors, coupled with a general blast of booze. Not as malty in the mouthfeel that we should get from an actual barleywine, but getting close. Big hops, big malty sweetness, and a cornucopia of fruits, some apple, grape, berries, a bit of cherry. 

It's an interesting beer, and I found much pleasure in drinking it. It doesn't fit any stylistic guidelines, it can't measure up to a real old ale or barleywine, but it's close. It does the trick. And I enjoyed it. Therefore, it's a good beer and you can drink it.