From the Appelton Post-Crescent:

This time the bait that hooked me were two beers from Fish Brewing Co. of Olympia, Wash., named Fish Tale Leviathan Barleywine-Style Ale and Fish Tale Poseidon’s Imperial Stout. By the time I discovered these denizens of the deep the day before, I was already rocking the boat from prior sampling and knew I would have to wait a day to sample them.

Why they went the extra mile to call Leviathan a barleywine-style ale I’m not sure, since it was more in line with traditional English barleywines than American counterparts.

It was a dark copper color, with a beautiful hop nose, slightly sweet malt and a bitterness to match the 8 percent alcohol strength. There is no alcohol bite, though. You can really tell the difference that appropriate aging makes. The carbonation was light — appropriate for the style.

The label noted that it was bottled in November 2004, a nice touch to let the consumer know how long it’s been aging.