Sold in 7 ounce nip bottles. Beautiful brown color, minimal head formation, sweet caramelly nose. The palate is incredibly rich and complex here with sweet rich malt, notes of caramel, hints of fresh bread and a huge warming alcohol finish. A truly wonderful beer, I'll bet this beer would age out wonderfully but alas I am not that patient! Ranks up with my favorite barleywines, Horizontal, Foghorn, Bigfoot, Millenium, Crusty, Smuttynose.

Update, 1/1/2014: What was that I was saying about this one aging out nicely? We're about to find out, folks. Courtesy of our own Red Rooster, I happen to have a bottle of the 1999 Old Wooly (same vintage as I reviewed 14 years ago) in hand. I pour the nip bottle into my glass, and there's almost no carbonation, but the nose is packed with a huge caramel-bready maltiness that I could just take a bath in.

That caramel-bready malt really bathes the tongue upon sipping, and some dark fruits of raisin, prune, and perhaps apple emerge, along with a little candied fruit rind. Indeed, the beer reminds me of a big caramel apple more than anything else. I get just the faintest bit of hop bitterness at the last, and some alcohol burn, more and more of that as the beer continues to warm, though this doesn't seem quite 9%. The beer does become more boozy in aroma and palate as the beer reaches the end of the glass.

Absolutely wonderful, what a way to start off the new year! Big Time says of Old Wooly:

Anticipated throughout the fall and released on December 1st each year, Old Wooly is Big Time's biggest and rarest beer. It is always powerfully malty with a prodigious amount of hops for balance. In addition to Northwestern 2-row pale malt, English Crystal, Munich, Carastan malts are used along with just a touch of roasted barley for a slight dryness and additional color. Old Wooly is bittered with Yakima Nugget hops and finished with Cascade and Centennial. Only 7 barrels of Old Wooly are brewed each year in late June. The beer is aged in our cellar until the 1st of December and then put on tap at the pub until it's gone. Starting gravity from 22-24 Plato and alcohol 8.5 to 9.5 by weight.

As you can see, a beer that will age wonderfully, so be sure to pick up plenty! If you get the chance, that is.