Anderson Valley Horn of the Beer Barley Wine

Brewed by Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Boonville, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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amber body with adequate carbonation, a thick, pillowy tan head. Sweet, real sweet! Dry fruits, apples and spices, awesome nose. caramel and pale malts come through, especially in the mouth. great balance. Big, full mouthfeel, rich, big barleywine mouthfeel. Alcohol stands pretty tall, but the great depth of ripe and dried fruitiness balances so well.

On tap at Pizza Paradiso in Dupont Circle. Served in a snifter. Pours a moderately-dark brown color with a thin off-white head. A bit of a collar throughout. The nose carries a really nice bouquet of fruits with some stone fruits as well as some of the darker, cherry-like variety. Caramel and brown sugar, too. The flavor added in a bit of earthy hops to go alongside some brown sugar and sweety malt. Chewy with a nice fruit presence. Pretty good brew.

3 oz. sample on tap at Brouwer’s Café for Hard Liver, pours amber. Aroma of caramel malts, light fruits and light hops. Flavour of caramel malts, balanced well with hops, not overly complex, but solid.

Nice rich, sweet flavor... Very nice enjoyable barleywine, lagunita’s Gnarleywine is far superior, but this one is definitely worth having again, solid beer.

On tap at Toronado
Appearance: Dark amber with an off-white head and lots of lacing
Aroma: Sweet caramel and malts
Taste: Sweet malts, caramel
Good, dry finish

On tap at Hard Liver 2010. Pours a medium red-amber with a foamy head that lingers nicely. Caramel malts, mild tropical fruits and cardboard in the aroma. Flavor is better. Silky smooth, with plenty of that caramel and those fruits. Hop backbone waits for a good five seconds, then starts to creep through - like it’s waking up from some alcohol-induced hibernation. It’s underwhelming at first, but it grows on you. It is - at the least - very easy to drink, given that it’s a fresh barleywine (09 vintage).

on tap-pours a retaining thin light tan head and hazy amber color. Aroma is sweet medium malt-toffee, some raisin. Taste is sweet medium malt-toffee, some earthy hops.

On tap at Toronado SF. Clear copper with a small off-white head, slowly fading to a thick creamy film. Vanilla, toffee and caramel dominate the aroma with a little raisin and leather behind. Flavor is a little sweet with raisins, light Concord grapes, and the scorched toffee--only a tinge of leather. Bitterness peaked at a 2-3 with some light alcohol burn. Full syrupy body with light carbonation. Pretty good, but due to the sweetness I could only take down a glass.

Draft at The Dray. Pours a deep redish copper brown with a thin but tight eggshell white head. Nose is pretty tame with toasty bread notes, caramel and a hint of apple sweetness. Taste is fairly malty and isn’t overly syrupy or viscous. Maybe a bit on the thin side for me. Flavors are fine, but just a bit ’muted’ over all. The 10.3% is well hidden. Decent, but nothing special

I "horned" this stuff the morning after the Boonville Beer Fest ("horning" means drinking in Boontling supposedly). Copper color with a white head. Aroma of sweet caramel malt, fruit, and some hops. Flavor is sweet, malty, and fruity, with caramel, earth, and some hops on the finish. Medium-full, smooth palate. Very "hornable" for the style.

2008 on draft at Hard Liver Barleywine Fest 09. Fruity nose. Sweet and malty but almost thin and watery body with quick finish.