Ah, the new issue of Beeradvocate magazine and its cupie doll tap handles. There was quite an outrage over this among circles so small that they might not even form circles. Funny no one thought that they were in drag or just detritus of toy box.
Anyway, this is a very light take on barley wine from Vermont's Rock Art Brewery. Plenty of pale malt graininess with a nice seam of apple butter and brown bread lightly cut by twig hops and, I think, a little black malt. A bit of mineral drying in the water. It pours a gorgeous brown that is a notch redder than beer bottle brown and it sits under rich lacing deep cream froth. And at 7.5%, the brewery - interestingly - calls this a mild barley wine. So maybe this is a beer living in a parallel universe with Scots wee heavy ales or even Ron's beloved Victorian high-test mild. Not overly complex but also none of that beer broth thing that can pop up in the higher test barley wines if not handled well.
This is a funny book. Guide books can be. You see they are to guide people from "X" around about a little old place we like to call "Y". If you are from "X" or "Y", you are likely going to understand what's going on but if you are not it gets to be a bit of an exercise in cultural anthropology with a decent bit of literary deconstruction thrown in.
While I proudly hold on to the title of the last place you want to go for your brewing trade information, even my eye caught 
Well, I am 
I want to say one thing. Where the heck did the days of whatchure fayvrit bock go? All these questions like who's your beer friend, what's your best beer place? I wish we'd get back to beer and a lot less about me...or you if you are another beer blogger. But at least 
Have I ever told you my Finnish joke? I heard it years ago on a BBC World Service show on the cultural nature of Finns. The joke goes like this:
Sadness reigns with 
