Alaskan Barley Wine Ale (Big Nugget)

Brewed by Alaskan Brewing Co
Style: Barley Wine
Juneau, Alaska USA

2009 bottle, pours a clear, dark red with a soapy tan head. Nose is pretty sugary, with nice rich malt, cake, and dark fruit elements. Maybe the tiniest bit of leather. A bit thin in the mouth, bitterness is a tad high. Some nice rich flavors coming through, but it’s quite young. This one is probably best aged at least 1-2 years.

2008 bottle. Pours a dark brown color small off white head. Aroma very sweet with some caramel and faint hops. Taste very smooth and sweet with hops still present. Nice malty backbone. Doesn’t seem like 10%. Very nice.

22 oz. bottle from South Bay (2009 Bottle). Dark pour that reminds me of something like a cream soda more than that of a barleywine. Thin, off-white head. Understated aroma, more sweet than hoppy, but some light floral hops make their way through. Sweet caramel upfront with some bitter floral hops. Some alcohol warming. To me this is way too sweet and not nearly hoppy enough. I was quite disappointed.

Pours a cloudy, dark ruby, rich brown. Heavy lacing, good head. Strong, sweet, malty smell. Flavor is overly sweet with prune flavors. Heavy malt and sweet characters are too much. During a beer tasting we actually poured this one out and moved on to more appealing offerings.

Bottle 2007 sample shared by shigadeyo. Poured clear reddish brown copper color with a moderate frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate dark fruit, earthy and small caramel malt aroma. Medium to full body with a dry smooth texture and flat carbonation. Moderate to heavy dark fruit sweet flavor with a medium to heavy bittersweet finish of moderate to long duration. This is a complex standout beer.

2008 bottle; Sampled December 2009
A vigorous pour produces an almost four-finger thick, densely creamy, amber-tinged, tan colored head that leaves lots of lacing on the sides of my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is a burnt amber hue that shows a brilliantly clear, pretty ruby color. The aroma smells of richly caramelized grain, and herbal hops that mix together in a heady, concentrated mix of aromas. Candied grapefruit zest, caramel-drizzled whole grain bread, brandy soaked raisins, brown sugar and current jam and some tobacco and leather notes that couple with the herbal hop notes.

Bitter from ample hops as it first hits my tongue, but soon enough a thick, rich malt sweetness engulfs the palate washing away much of the bitterness. The malt sweetness doesn’t completely dominate the bitterness as there is just enough to temper the malt and keep it from becoming overly cloying. There is a lingering, herbal, almost menthol note as well as a firm bitterness. The malt sweetness accentuates flavors of candied citrus peel, concentrated red currants, as well as toasted, toothsome, whole grain malt flavors. As the beer warms more toasted grain notes come through. There is a touch of caramelized / lightly toasted marshmallow flavor here that is quite nice without being too sweet. Thick and chewy, but without being cloying

2008 release, draught at the Toronado Barley Wine Festival 2010. Brown with a small head. malty brown sugar aroma with some dark bread and light fruity touch. Sweet and malty flavor with brown sugar and caramel. Modest on the hops with just enough to get some balance in there, but still leaning more-so towards the malt end. Full bodied but not too thick wit lower carbonation. Pleasing malt character all around, but not a terribly interesting beer.

Bomber. Pours initially a russet red-brown, lots of fizz running up the sides of the tulip glass. As it settles, the hue becomes an attractive ruby red. Aroma is of caramel, cherries, plums, and raisins... complexly sweet. Taste is very interesting. Initially a touch sour, then darker and sweeter, almost like anise, then the booze kicks in, but well-balanced... wait, a second taste indicates that the booze becomes well-balanced at the end of the palate. In the middle, however, it spikes and takes over too much. It doesn’t bother me, I like the taste of booze, but it is a little over the top, even for this style. Anyway, this is nice, and certainly a reminder of many of the good things a quality barleywine has to offer.