Gigantic Hellboy Trevor Bruttenholm British Barleywine

 Gigantic Hellboy Trevor Bruttenholm British Barleywine. Beer #6 of 6.

Alc. by Vol. 9.99%. Gigantic Brewing, Portland, OR. 

Gigantic Hellboy Trevor Bruttenholm British Barleywine. That's quite a mouthful. Let's break it down.

Gigantic is the Portland, Oregon brewery that made this beer. This is my first time drinking them. The store where I work only stocks the beers in this series. Maybe the buyer is a big comic book guy. I don't know, it's never come up. Strange.

Hellboy is the comic book and film franchise created by Mike Mignola, who I've been a fan of since the early 80's. His illustrations for Jack Kirby characters (the trolls in Asgard from Thor, the Deviants from The Eternals)  in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe caught my attention and I followed him through runs on The Incredible Hulk and Alpha Flight, and still treasure his work on the Rocket Raccoon mini-series, which I have in hardcover now. Hellboy came around in the 90's, and I kept up with it for a while, and am now catching up through volumes borrowed from the library.

Trevor Bruttenholm is a character in the Hellboy series. He's the gent who discovered the little demon way back in 1944. They call him Broom in the films, for some reason.

British Barleywine is the style of beer, one that I adore, so let's drink it...

Deep burgundy hue, utter opacity, full, long-lasting beige-tinged head. Looking great for the style. 

In the nose: Rich and wondrous maltiness. Plenty of hops, to boot. Very vinous. All the dark fruits at play. An abundance of luxuorious goodness. 

In the mouth: Thick, full, totally bombastic barley-wine flavors pummel the palate. Hops are heavy, malts majestic. Roasty, toasty, toffee-is, caramel-y goodness. This fits the bill. Put this in your brandy snifter, by the fire, old dog Trey at your feet, in your slippers, paging through a volume of Voltaire. It's what barleywines are made for, contemplating the world, while partaking of it's best creation. This is yet another example of what makes beer superior to wine. So much more complex that the fruit of the grape, so many mansions all assembled in one house. 

This makes for a magnificent nightcap. I might have to grab that final bottle and see how long I can hold on to it. 

Good ol' barleywines. How I love them. 

(anyone who gets the comic strip reference above gets a No-Prize.)

"There are some for whom old age lends a fatherly gravitas. A paternal might. This barleywine is much the same. With intriguing nuances of toffee, dark fruits, citrus, and caramel that will develop over years."