3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20Bottle, 2010 vintage. Ruddy orange-red-brown body, thin clumping beige head. Deep, robust caramely nose with notes of brown sugar, prune, and alcohol, warming, rich and prickly. Caramely body with prune and raisin in addition to dusty, earthy, faded hops and hints of alcohol, a tad oxidized but not terribly so. Overall, it’s a pretty good rendition.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
2010 bottle from trade with crajun. Thanks! Pours a slightly cloudy dark copper color with a small bubbly head that collects at the edges. Nice strong aroma, lots of caramel, toffee, and dark fruit. Taste is moderately sweet and has a light bitterness. Nice mix of caramel, toffee, figs, dates, cherries, and brown sugar. Smooth finish, light booziness, dark fruit taste lingers. Surprisingly thin mouthfeel, lightly sticky. Overall, a very nice mix of flavors and very smooth but I wish the mouthfeel was better. Would love to try to more recent vintage sometime.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
2008 bottle. Medium copper, clear, thin off-white head. Aroma: toffee, toasty malt, some dark fruit, a little leathery age on this several year old bottle. Flavor is deeply malty with caramel, toffee, nutty notes, dark fruit, raisins, again some leather, light note of higher alcohols. Full bodied and warming.
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
This rating is for the 2009 vintage at 10.4% ABV. Sweet, malty, caramel barleywine aroma. Deep copper with a slight reddish tinge and a thin ring of off-white bubbles around the sides. Caramel, vanilla, sweet cherries, plums and a hint of butterscotch. The sugary sweetness is well balanced by a dry, earthy hop bitterness that has some vegetal flavor in the background. For such a big beer, the body is surprising light and the 10.4% ABV seems far higher than the flavor suggests. Finishes relatively clear and dry for a barleywine with some residual caramel sweetness and a little alcohol vapor. I should have tried this fresh when I bought this so I’d have a comparison to 4 years of age now. I have a feeling I let it go a little too long and it would have been better a year or two ago.
4.3 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Pours dark reddish brown with a cream colored head of foam. Aroma is candied figs, dates, and dark fruity malt. Taste is deep malty goodness. Dates, figs, and dark fruit dominate the palate with caramel and oak nuances. Light carbonation and easy drinkability. Very nice barleywine.
4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
2008 bottle, picked up at Bottleworks this morning when the line to get into Hard Liver was too long for me to accept. Beautiful dark fruit -- figs, dates -- and caramel on the aroma. Soft, mellow, and sexy. Pours dark, murky tamarind brown with a finger of off-white head that dissipates to a ring. Sweet, fruity, some oxidation. Caramel notes come through more as it warms, but everything is very harmonious. Soft, silky mouthfeel, soft carbonation, full body. This is a delight to sip -- I’m impressed.
3.6 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
22oz bomber, 2011 release. Dark ruby color with virtually no head. Sweet, boozy aroma with notes of pitted fruit and molasses. Taste is similar. Pretty good.
4.4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
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.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 18/20
caramel, dried fruits, malt. alcohol smell comes out more as it continues to warm.
Tastes, dried, sweet fruit. Dark fruits. Malt, caramel.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle @ home... from jarvit.... thanks :) ... It pours clear dark brown with a small tan head.....The aroma is light roasted malt, caramel and ripe dark....The flavor is roasted malt, caramel, brown sugar and ripe dark fruit....
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 17/20
2011 bottle. Quite flat. Very agressive hopping for a Barley Wine - a very nice surprise and really helps cut the sweetness (esp. since there was hardly any carbonation to help). The sweetness is kept in check, which I expected to be through the roof on a >10% Alaskan BW. That near 11% is well hidden as well. I was impressed with this one.
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