Wild Heaven Height Of Civilization

Wild Heaven Height Of Civilization is an English style Barleywine brewed with Prussian lemons, hibiscus, tart cherries, cranberries and cocoa nibs. It is then aged in Dulce Vida tequila barrels. I am on the fence about tequila barrel aging with beers, sometimes the result is great, but it can also be a total nightmare.

This pours with a fantastic dark ruby red color with a nice off white head. The smell is divine: rich toffee, raisins, cherries, some chocolate and tequila. Surprised by how much I like the tequila barrel notes in the aroma, I didn’t figure they would mix with base beer too well. I was very wrong. Sweet dark fruits rush to the forefront of the taste, followed by an insurgence of tequila. Thankfully the tequila doesn’t take over at this point, getting some light notes of lemon (the lemon really starts to pop after considerable warming), vanilla, and a nice dry oak finish. Tequila barrel in the aftertaste, It is a pleasant mix of tequila, vanilla and wood.

Beautiful. I’m not sure how else to say it, this is a beautiful beer.