3.6 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle, 3 years in the cellar. Snifter. A copper coloured ale. Very little head. Fig in the aroma with oak, sap, Christmas cake and dark fruit in the malt. Full bodied and slightly oily. Pine flavours come through initially, with some alcohol, slightly toasty malt with caramel, dark brown bread. The finish is long with baking fruits and dark, dark cocoa.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle. Lots more butterscotch in the sweetness to resinous ratio than other barleywines. Plenty of boozy warmth in the finish. I thought this was a little off balanced in favor of malt, but I actually prefer that in barleywines.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
(From notes) Tap @ 38 Degree Alehouse, Alhambra, CA (end of 2009). Red brown color, small creamy head, off white. Aroma: roasted malts, hopbitter, sweet. Flavor is sweet & medium bitter. Strong alcoholfeel (warms the throat). Finishes quite bitter, with still some malty sweet for balance. Good.
4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
2009 Vintage Bottle pours a reddish brown with small light tan head. Aromas are caramel and dark fruits and some bitterness. Taste is caramel, cherry, raisins, and some nice bold hoppiness that keeps this from being too sweet. Body is full, carbonation is average. Finish is long and bitter after some sweetness up front. Overall, a very nice barleywine with great rounded edges (thanks to the aging).
4.3 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
Poured from a bottle with a "Enjoy by Dec, 2, 2015" stamp into a tulip glass.
A: Slightly hazy with a nice deep red color and a thin tan head.
S: Smells sweet and of dark fruits (maybe cherries, I can’t pin point it, but it’s definitely inviting with only slight alcohol esters appearing as I swirl the glass.
T: Sweet and malty upfront with a tinge of earthy notes and a slight floral bitterness with an alcohol apparent, but not heavy, finish. Almost has a medicinal taste to it, like Robotussin.
M: Medium bodied, though syrupy with almost no carbonation.
O: This is one of the better barleywines I’ve had, I’m no expert in these though. I’m enjoying it though it’s definitely very drinkable for 11% making it a great sipper.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
8-oz draft @ Pony with Paul. Pours a mirky amber-brown. Sweet, sugary aromas and a complex, fruity, bitter palate with medium mouthfeel and good drinkability. Really solid take on the style - a well-rounded, classic barleywine.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Since Im not a huge barleywine fan, i didnt expect to like this...and I was wrong. Great beer!! Huge flavor without having the "wine" kind of flavor to it. For an 11% barleywine I couldnt be more surprised with how good this was!
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Purchased at Armanetti’s in Chicago, IL; enjoyed while watching week 13 Sunday night football. Appearance is a cloudy, murky brown with a thin off white head, looks a bit sludgy but nice. Aroma is very malty, mostly caramel, sweet with a unique fruit smell, doesn’t smell too boozey but it is prevalent. Taste does hit you with sweetness, like a syrupy cherry/plum flavor. Heavy body with medium carbonation. You get hit with the booze but it doesn’t taste like it, hid nicely. Good barley wine.
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