Wellington Brewery "Frost Quake"

On a bright and positively frigid Sunday afternoon when the thermometer at my house hadn't crept above -23 degrees Celsius I felt a craving for a living room brewery tour. So bravely pulling on a pair of jeans and some big black winter boots I drove the frosty five minutes to my local liquor purveyor. A digital sign on a sunny hill top along the way displays a hopeful "-18.0C". It's cold out.

The name "Frost Quake" in large letters seems to strike a contradiction in my imagination. Today is the perfect day for a real frost quake, temperatures tonight are predicted to drop closer to -30C, and yet as a beer named for an icy cold weather phenomenon, it seems like something one might seek on a hot summer day. The large, dark, swing top bottle seals the deal. 

Once again safe and warm at home I pop the big brown bottle of "bourbon barrel aged barley wine" and pour a modest 5 ounces into a snifter. 

Phenomenal stuff. Perfect for the weather. Deep chestnut brown. Ever so slightly syrupy, but sweet and molassesy enough. The alcohol content is burly at 9.8% but it's well camouflaged by the galloping malt. The barrel aging has brought the elements of this barley wine together like a symphony of flavor and aroma. 

I'd happily recommend this to a friend. In fact I already have! Enjoy with someone special to turn a icy cold day into a warm celebration of masterful brewing.