Alaskan Pilot Series: Barley Wine Ale

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

Serve in Snifter

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22oz bottle thanks to pantanap, big thanks Kan. Beautiful mahogany color. Awsome aroma as well. lots of dark malts and fruits, very rich. Real good bitterness up front to go with the luxurious maltiness . Just got better as it warmed, a truly outstanding Barleywine.

A nice barleywine, dominantly plum and alcohol, but traces of raisin and toffee. Thin and deep reddish brown. Bought in Juneau at the 4 IGERT workshop.

2011 vintage. Deep dark walnut. Small off-white head. Aroma is rich, very malty, carmely, a little dark fruity, a little boozy. First sip..wow, excellent. Big, full body, sweet, some roastiness, syrupy. Flavor is malty, caramel, dark fruit. Balanced, Well done.

On tap at the 2003 Toronado Barleywine Festival: A very nice subtle smoke flavor. Solid malt backbone. Very subtle underlying hop flavor and bitterness. Quite light. Nice!!

Pours very dark for style, deep mahogany with a dense of-white head. Very clear, with ruby notes. Aroma is wonderful Northwest hops upfront, very fresh (dry hopped?), followed closely by dark malts, producing some chocolate and hints of coffee aromas. Flavor follows through after aroma, with more NW hops, and a great dark chocolate character. Aftertaste is more dark chocolate, backed by more NW hops. Body is pleasantly full. Great American-style Barleywine! One of the best!

UPDATED: JAN 16, 2012 ’07 bottle, fresh

Oh my goodness! This is a superb west-coast barley wine. Rich brown pour with red highlights and a lovely full head. Big floral citric aroma, big dark caramel sugars, alcohol. That’s good, but the taste is what really shines. Lovely balance of brown sugar molassas malts and orange with mint hops; bananas flambes, subtle yeast-driven spices, lovely resiny close. Dang this thing is good. Outrageously good. Slightly hot, but otherwise so smooth in the mouth, full and creamy, literally dangerously drinkable (I cruised through a bomber over dinner, which I usually don’t for the 10+ abv beers, despite trying to hold back.)

It’s good now, but this one is going to be a world beater with 2 or 3 years of age on it. I cannot wait to explore the age profile for this beer. It could easily pull a 4.4 or even 4.5 once the alcohol mellows and the flavors meld. Fantastic! 8/5/9/4/17
2+ years old 2007 bottle, rated 1/25/10. Seems that I predicted this one correctly. This has become insanely good. Butterscotch nose and chocolate plus molasses in the flavor, beautifully rounded by the well-aging hops, all of heat dissipated by a couple of years in the bottle. Definitely high end, could be 9/5/9/4/18=4.5. I’ll bump to 4.4.

4/30/10. Really durn good, and easy-drinking in that I just cruised another bomber on an empty stomach. The alcohol seems a bit too obvious, though, I’m thinking more like 4.3 than the 4.5 I called it a few months back.

11/20/10. Seems past its prime, the old cheese coming forward and the alcohol still heated. I think I prefer it a bit fresher. This is more like a 4.1 bottle. Fortunately, I’ve got ’08 and ’09 in the cellar. 1/16/12. The 2008 is now far past its prime.

Tap at Uber

Pours quite dark, elegant. Lovely sipping BW, fairly laid back on the hops, richly malty, delicious fruits, not overly complex right now but so nice to sip that I can hardly complain. Not a show-off BW, but rather a well-balanced well-crafted one. I probably would have gone about 4.1 rather than 4.3 on this glass, but my palate may have been damaged by the Full Sail Bourbon BA Imperial Porter that proceeded it.

UPDATED: AUG 2, 2009 2008 bomber thanks to TheBeerSommelier!!! deep red color with small white head. thick aromas of hops, caramelized malts and spice. this carries through the full body. plenty of dark fruit, apple and sugar are also noticeable... wonderful spicy, bitter strong finish.... overall this is a very well balanced barley wine that would age extremely well in addition to being stellar fresh.

2008 VIntage shared by motortoddhead. Brilliant red-amber. Surprising that after 3 years, grapfruit and pine hops still hangin on to this one in the nose. Plenty ofdark fruit punch, crystal malts, light toasted/biscuit character. Great dried dark fruit, bread, toasted malt sweetness, and great Northwest hop bitterness. Trailing bitterness and fruit. Great stuff! Thanks again, Todd!

2008 edition in a bomber from Whole Foods Seattle South Lake Union. Pours rich, dark ruby, bordering on dark brown or black, moderate beige head with some retention and good lacing. Aromas of brown and caramelized sugar, citrus rind, figs, plums, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. Flavour develops dark fruit, sweet spice, piney hops, some tree fruit right at the beginning and a long, warm, boozy finish dried out with bittering hops. Fairly creamy mouthfeel with balanced carbo. Excellent.

UPDATED: APR 4, 2008 Bottle from the first bottled release: Pours a transparent mahogany amber with a well-lacing tan head. Aroma of rich sweet caramel malt, light fruity esters and a fresh piny hoppy presence. Body is full, sweet and caramely with a nice resiny hop balance. A very tasty barleywine.

GABF 2004: Pours a clear copper brown with a creamy white head. Amazingly boisterous fresh piney hoppy and full sweet caramel aroma. Body is overflowing with sweet thick malty goodness and plenty of well-balanced citrusy pine hops. Finishes semi-bitter and sticky without any traces of alcohol. This is a really good barleywine. I wish they’d bottle this stuff and send it to the lower 48.