Dave Kilgour was backed into a corner at the Manly Men Beer club meeting. The club members demanded an English style barleywine ale brewed with a dose of new world style smoked grain. His second task was to come up with a name for a smokey beer brewed in the shadow of Maine’s cool ocean waters.

Dave set out to craft a brew with the enchantment and ruggedness of Maine’s winter waters. Brewed with cherry wood smoked barley, this ale attains the subtle warmth of a barleywine ale without being overbearing. The introduction of the smoked flavor acts to balance the sweetness inherent in the barley-wine style yielding a quirky, yet sophisticated beer.

Gifted to me from my friend Mike with his approbation of the brew, I held on to it for as long as I could resist before giving it a taste. And wow. Just wow.

The heavy, golden ale instantly delivers a deliciously sweet & sour taste as it slowly enters the mouth. And slowly it should go, as this heavy ale isn’t to be daftly quaffed in a rush; it deserves a casual enjoyment to allow the luscious malty mix to coat the mouth, bathing the tongue in a mild sourness full caramel sweetness. Though very faint on any seltzery texture, there is a strong alcohol presence carried about, especially in the aftertaste, where the liquid melts to a pleasant and ever-present caramel & buttery goodness. After a few more sips, a light hoppyness begins to build up to deliver some more flavour. All this is wrapped in a lightly-smoked essence that is far from overpowering.

There’s an excellent team effort with all the players as no single star outshines and overpowers the game. Each element, the hops, alcohol, sweetness, texture and smoke, all play eloquently together to deliver an exceptional game that’s just damn good. Best enjoyed without haste, this is one amazingly well-balanced brew, and an instant favorite.