4.4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
Cask late May 2008: Poured a dark mahogany with a dense small-bubbled creamy light tan head that needed a few minutes to settle and left a thick coating behind as it subsided. Aroma of rich sweet caramel malts and apples wtih some good oaky notes and light oxidation. Body starts thick and creamy with a finely dissolved carbonation and nice sweet doughy caramel flavor. Has a nice balance of calvados character and lots of brown sugar and raisin complexity. A very enjoyable barley wine.
4.7 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 19/20
On cask at the Alpharetta. This is a badass barleywine. Damn fine. Damn damn fine! Pours brown. Aroma is sweet, fruity, vanilla, toffee, butter, wood and a mix of malt goodness. Flavor is quite complex. Syrup, sugar, fruit, candy, vanilla, wood, and at the very end you can detect some slight bitterness which just adds to the beauty of this beer. Simply a wonderful craft beer.
4.4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
UPDATED: JAN 9, 2011
Date: March 13, 2008
Mode: Firkin
Source: Brewpub
Words: 7 weeks on oak
Appearance: muddy rusty brown, thick creamy cascading beige head, layers of drippy lace
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma with lots of oak balanced by the vanilla sweetness, hint of tartness, hot caramel shows up upon warming
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich malt flavor, lots of brown sugar sweetness, growing rich ripe dark fruit character takes over and brings in additional sweetness on the second glass, touch of oak and vanilla in good balance, oak grows throughout the night along wirh a dark caramel character, alcohol presencecomes and goes, light bitterness rises out of the oak to provide balance and a touch of bitterness in the finish
Date: May 25, 2008
Score: 4.2 to 4.4
Words: 17 weeks
Aroma: aroma has more of the sweet and fruity apple brandy and vanilla character and less of the oak
Body: creamiest body ever in a beer
Flavor: fruity flavor from the underlying barleywine is coming through more and blending with the vanilla and apple from the brandy leaving the oak in the background
Overall: more about the fruit and less about the oak this time around
Date: December 16, 2010
Mode: firkin
Source: brewpub
Appearance: muddy brown, creany beige head
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma, brown sugar sweetness, fruity fig
Flavor: sweet fruity flavor, vanilla sweetness, big oak up front that fades as it warms to allow the fruityness and apple to emerge
Aroma: 9/10; Appearance: 9/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 10/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+ /4
4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 19/20
UPDATED: MAY 25, 2008 My 900th!!! And what a wonderful beer to be number 900. Cask at the 5 North. Pours a hazy amber brown color with a light brown head. Aroma is oak, vanilla, alcohol, prune. Flavor is prune, vanilla, oak, alcohol, and a sugary alcohol finish. This beer was just fantastic one of the best barleywines I have ever had.
5/24/08: Cask
Pours an opaque mahogany brown color with a tan head. Aroma is caramel, apple, oak, vanilla, prune, ad sweet alcohol. Flavor is malty, caramel, cream, oak, vanilla, sweet green apple, some tartness, and a sweet warming apple alcohol finish. Once again just amazing!
4.7 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
My 50th BW Rating! Served via cask. Very deep opaque reddish- purple hue. Light brown thick head of creamy foating on the surface like fresh milk fat... I’m scared of this beer. Aroma of plums, figs, dates, and fermentation bucket. Big oak sherry notes and even some cherry. Flavor is all Big Character! Heavy malt. Perfect hop balance. Very chewy. Raisins, dates, figs , cherry, vanilla, oak, yum, and alcohol is very well hidden. This is what Old Guardian wishes it could be. Thanks again Crawford, Cheers!
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