Grand Lake Super Chicken Barley Wine

Brewed by Grand Lake Brewing Co
Style: Barley Wine
Grand Lake, Colorado USA

Cherry orange. Teeny-bubbled ring of foam. Sugared plums, grapey malts, and spruce tips in the aroma. Hint of fruitcake, smoke, and malt dust. Tight carbonation. Slipperiness is coarsened by a touch of coniferous accented bitterness. Alcohol lends some astringency and underlines the more-pungent hop aspects. Cakey with a thickset malt base (maris otter?) that masks much of the polished hop traits, but works to sustain the body. Prickly bitterness conveys a sense of salty licorice candy, which exaggerates the dryness and awakens a hint of chocolate. Marvelously balanced, throughout, with a late but salvaging medley of candied apples, alcohol, and supple malt to go along with the piney hop flash. Tolerably sweet finish of soggy plums and grapey malts capped with a bright hop tease. Not overly interesting, but nicely done.

12oz. bottle. Malty and sweet aroma, some tea-like herbal components, faint flowers and medicinal alcohol, some dark caramel as well. Dark rusty red-brown color, very fine head. Flavor is full of malt and what seems like cedar, plenty of bitterness and earthiness to be found, some alcohol heat and wood bark, plenty of dark caramel and somewhat burnt sugary sweetness. Smooth and low in carbonation, body is huge and full. Some balance to be found here but not a great deal of complexity.

This dark brown ale poured with no head - just a few floating bubbles - and a fruity malt aroma. This is a sweet barleywine with a lot of substance and a long bitter finish with an alcohol trail. This brew is somewhat hoppier than most barleywines I have tasted.

Bottle from rsquared618. Pours slightly hazy amber with light whitish head. Smell is perfumy and sweet and alcoholic with a light hop scent. Taste is dull cardboard malt and very light hops, but a lingering alcoholic flavor and some bitterness. Tastes a bit lifeless and boring, but not too offensive aside from the slightly alcoholic flavor. Below average barley wine. Medium to watery body and lifeless mouthfeel with soft carbonation.

mahogony color whispy off white head some lace. Big hoppy aroma balanced w/ brown sugar maple notes and carmel malts some over ripe plum. Good llight creamy palate full bodied and thick. Flavor is over ripe plums sweet syrups and brown sugar w/ a big alcohol kick and some bitter hop finishes. A fairly basic barleywine but not to bad.

cool label .. pours with some foam, soap like but constant .. . nice stuff, very mellow, abv is done right .. . burnt toffee, chocolate cherry skin, and other dark flavours .. . would age gracefully .. . Brooke shields is gorgeous .. brew would go well with baby back ribs, ..bbq sauce!

12oz bottle, no date. Murky brown with a minimal beige head. Lots of caramel and alcohol up front with some old hops, cherries, and tobacco in the backend. Wish this bottle was dated, smells like it’s got some age on it. The flavor is hugely malty--lots of caramel, toffee, and grain--with all the aforementioned aromas. The alcohol in the mouth is masked well, but is noticeable down the throat. Dirty finish, bitterness 3. Slick medium body with scant carbonation. Was not worth the 6+ bucks it cost.

Clear, opulent cherry chestnut color with a dusty, swirling tan head. Black cherry skin ripens the aroma, pursued by hoppy amarillo and spruce. Black raspberry juice comes close to cheesecake levels. Sweet, viscous revolutions. Bitterness aerates with a full-bodied, dark skinned fruit enclosure. Bing cherries resume their top line flavor profile with some squished pomegranate shards (sans kernels) to wrap things up. No faults, just simple and enjoyable. Think for sharing the Supa Chicken, MrFacto!