Berkshire Holidale

Brewed by Berkshire Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
South Deerfield, Massachusetts USA

Serve in Snifter

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2004 bottle. Hazy copper pour with a medium off white head. Sweet aroma, very malty, I smell banana runts. Kinda reminds me of a belgian by the aroma. Licorice is dominating on this brew. Sweetness in the middle, with a blast of hop to finish. Not my favorite, although hard to match up to the last barleywine I enjoyed (St. Ambroise 2001 vintage)

Reviewed from notes. Pours a moderate amber color with a thin off-white head and a tad bit of spotty lacing on the way down. The nose brings some spice along with caramel and dark fruits. A bit of sweet bread in the background. The flavor has caramel and sweet malt plus some dark fruits and a bit of winter spice. Medium body with spice and a bit of booze to go along with the sweetness. An interesting winter beer, though probably not something that I would seek out again.

Amber; aroma of sorbitol candy, oranges, earth, and pine. Strong malt - a somewhat one-dimensional malty barley wine. English style.

2002. Copper w/ slight head. Sweet malt nose w/ some alcohol & hops. Not particularly interesting. Some fruit, some wood, some bitterness & lots of alcohol (too much).

A golden barley wine with a thin white head. A cloying vinous aroma with strong alcohol notes, rather simple. In mouth, a sweet light barley wine with grainy malt, not refined, rather boring. Tasted at "Montréal YeHA! Party 2006". Dec. 16 2006.

Brassin 2009. Bouteille de 22 oz partagée avec MartinT et Beerbuzzmontreal. Arôme: Odeur d’ananas avec une pointe de caramel. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée opaque. Présence d’un moyen col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de jus de salade de fruits. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement aqueuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût fruité. (Rating #3214)

Bottle, 2008. Pours to a deep ruby amber color with a minimal head. Very light on the bubbles. Aromas of some interesting tropical fruits are a little surprising -- banana and maybe some tangerine. Medium sized mouthfeel. Sweet and fruity on the palate. Slight flowery notes as well. The alcohol really does come out near the end of this one. Not bad, but nothing spectacular. Ill certainly try 2009, but in the mean time this isnt a favorite.

Cloudy redish-copper body with a medium off-white head. Sweet and alcohol on the nose. Despite a strong taste the body feels airy and the beer lacks complexity. Some dark fruits, some mushrooms, cakeish malts, some out-of-place citrusy hops. The beer also had a greasy feeling!?! This beer lacked cohesion and wasn’t even a Barley Wine. Berk Holidale.

Bu au YeHa! 06. Version 2005. Brun orange, peu de collet. Arome très licoreux, un peu fruité. Goût licoreux, sucré et rien d’autre.

UPDATED: AUG 4, 2010 Impressions from a few different bottles (sadly):
-A ring of foam surrounds the nearly clear orange-red.
-Some tartness and pickled fruitiness mars the sweet aroma.
-Cherry fruitiness and incongruous caramel don’t like each other, which is disturbing.
-The well-fed body offers no complexity at all, and mostly shows signs of disease.
-Vegetable tones and intrusive tartness slash the sweet malt finish.
-Resinous hops are completely confused here, and don’t know where to make their presence felt, dizzied by their nervous companions.
-This smells like a beer sangria.
-I usually expect a barley wine to be a serene yet powerful evening sipper, a nourishing reward to myself for a tiring day. This fails miserably in this aspect, and also as a simple, flavorful strong ale.

Bottles; 2005 and 2009 vintage.