Ballast Point Old Barmy Ale

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Fruit Beer
San Diego, California USA

Serve in Flute, Shaker

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Appearance: Cloudy peach and apricot – dense and hazy. White head fades into a small free floating puddle bordered by a full thick collar.
Nose: Massive notes of apricot stewed in honey. Peach and apricot brandy with spices. Green pears and green grapes are flambéed and caramelized in honey with just a touch of spice. Candied ginger on top. Sticky doughy honey rolls dripping with real honey.
Palate: Zow! Grabs back of mouth and tongue with tart apricots and honey. Oozes boozy green grapes, pears, and starfruits. Gentle parching finish of raw honeycomb and husked grains. Champagnesque – a bit dusky and dry in a good way. Candied ginger grabs the back of my tongue. Raw fermenting apricot musk, skins included for tannins, tartness, and earthiness. Peach and apple brandy infused with honey. Thick and rich. Nice warming alcohol warmth in the chest. More apricot after each swallow. Caramelized and boozed and spiced.
Final Thoughts: This particular beer is one for the books and absolutely one for the sipping. Wow. Sometimes styles are meant to be followed and sometimes styles are meant to be blurred. New and old all at the same time. If you have a chance to try this beer, please do. You may love it and you may not but the Old Barmy Ale demands savoring.
(An original written work by Beer Ambassador, LLC. Plagiarism is not tolerated.)

On tap, golden color with white foam , aroma is sweet fruit with flavor of honey and blueberries , sweet finish

On tap at World of Beer, Raleigh. Very bright golden-orange pour, with a thin silky carbonation. Honey and yeast in the nose, but then nice pert apricot emerges. Body not too slick or heavy, thankfully, and the flavors are pleasant as the fruit melds nicely with honey, tart notes here and there, and a mildly bitter finish.

Pours golden orange with a small white head. Nose is apricot, peaches, hay, ginger, honey. Taste is sweet and a good balance of tart/bitter. The mouthfeel is crisp and clean, medium body and a long finish.

Tap. Pours a deep, clear golden with very little head. Aroma is honey, bees wax and some slight stone fruit. Taste is more deep, rich honey and only slightly apricot centric. The taste is more cough syrup based on the honey and the overall sweetness and heat from the apricot. I’d consider this more of a mead mouth feel and approach than a true fruit beer. Overall, not that pleasant though others seemed to love it.

Draught. Pours a clear amber color with a small head. Nose has some slight notes of the apricot, but isn’t too strong. Very much apricot in the taste, though you can get just a hint of the sweetness from the honey underneath.

Taken from my BA account, r 2/29/12 Live tasting, 4 oz. taster on tap at Ballast Point... Appearance; pours a beautiful clear golden honey color, minimal head falls quickly... Smell; apricots, honey and a slight bready, yeasty aroma. Taste; jumps out at you with honey, hints of apricot sneak in but never becomes overbearing... Not a hint of the 10.5% ABV in the flavor profile... Amazing.. Mouthfeel; lively in the mouth, good carbonation with a slightly velvety mouthfeel... Fantastic and easy drinkin, firmly light bodied... Overall; get some of this. Amazing.

Was listed as 12%. Pours to a glowing golden body with a crisp white head. Aroma is light apricots. Flavor is more significantly apricots and some light floral hops. Moderate sweetness. Medium body, and surprisingly not syrupy. Doesn’t taste like 12% at all. Very dangerous brew for that reason.

Small sample, aroma very medicinal alcoholic... Grape notes, cough medicine... Clear golden...

On tap at Whole Foods. Pours orange with smallish white head. Aromas of apricots, honey, earth, white grapes. Moderately sour and sweet. Smooth, moderate body, though a tiny bit of alcohol burn. Kind of like a citrusy chardonnay.