Big Rock Barghest Barleywyne

Brewed by Big Rock Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Calgary, Canada

Serve in Snifter

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The aroma is not great kind of smells like balsamic vinegar there is nothing balanced about this beer...really it doesn’t smell good the taste is overly sweet, too boozy and lacks depth. I am by no means a barley wine expert but this one doesn’t come close to the others I have tried...blah

Pours a hazy brown colour with no head. Aroma is sour, fruity and just some off esters. Flavour is dried fruit, very sweet, metallic, sour. Overall this is terrible, big rock i keep hoping for something good out of you but you completely disregard the idea of a good craft beer(guess they dont sell well enough to a pale lager based population) you should stick to your main beers for the masses and scrap the beers intended for the "craft beer enthusiast" that is all.

Pours a clear dark brown with a red hue. Aroma of sweet dried fruits, sour apple esthers and biscuit. Taste is sweet raw sugar up front with some dried fruits and a woodiness. Not very balanced and a bunch of random flavors appearing at different times. Glad I tried it but a note to big rock even barley wines have hops but you failed on hop usage once again.

Packaging looked great. Dark brown pour with a ruby hue. Sherry notes on the nose. Catch some vinegar as well. Not very pleasent. Soft mouthfeel, kind of slippery. Dried fruit and figs. Don’t care for this one. I will have to try some other Barleywynes as comparison.

Did not see a bottle number. I hate wax coated bottles. Copper ale with an intriguing red tint. Fruity wine vinnegar aroma whispers caution. Foamy malt body with big wine fruitiness. Zinfandel and chocolate. Body is weird. Like a foam pudding on your tongue.

Bottle 317 of 3000. Small 275ml bottle with a nice black wax dip, wife likes the evil black dog on the label. Beautiful amber body with only a few small bubble islands floating on top. Sweet plumb, cherry, other dark sweet aromas, wood, malty yumness with a toffee finish in the nose. Wish the aroma was heavier. Taste is the same, light, sweet, highly drinkable. Cherry, wood, caramel........something in this taste is throwing off. Soap? The warmer this gets the more harsh (harsh seems to harsh of a word) and woody the taste becomes. Wish this was less harsh but more intense if you know what I’m saying. I liked this way better in the start then the finish but still good and highly drinkable.....Good effort.

Interesting. Big Rock steps it up. Waxed 250ml (I think) bottle. Clear glass? Ok. Brownish orange with a bit of head. Aroma of raisins, caramel, and hearty malt. Raisiny taste, a bit cloyingly sweet but not too far. Some dark fruit... Maybe chocolate? Pretty interesting. Also, spell barley wine properly next time, thanks.

Aroma is caramel, sweet malt and dark fruit, taste is same and smooth for a barley wine. One of the better beers to come out of Big Rock in some time. Hopefully it is a sign of what they are going to be brewing. Just ditch the box with the packaging - useless waste!

Not a big fan of promoting beers with over-indulgent and unnecessary packaging, but that minor gripe aside, I was so happy to see Big Rock finally delve into something a little more adventurous in the beer world. This beer really is a gorgeous colour-- I’m looking at it right now, and it is a beautiful brickish red-orange, very rich looking. Unfortunately the head is almost effervescent in nature, and is extremely short-lived in my Trois Mousquetaires stemmed fat tulip glass, leaving no lace nor any residual ring or lasting presence of any kind beyond about 20 seconds. Aroma is sweet, with raisins and kirsch notes, fruity caramel, light alcohol vapours, and subtle earthy undertones. Sweet fruity caramel palate, with raisins and cherries dominating again, but with a slightly vegetal bitterness closing things off at the end. Full-bodied, but permeated by prickly brisk carbonation that actually enhances the mouthfeel. Not terribly complex, and missing some of the key elements that elevate certain BWs to a different level for me. But having said that, I am very pleased with this offering by Big Rock-- as a barley wine it satisfies. And to echo Savvy’s sentiments, I hope this is the dawn of a new day for Big Rock, and that there are more exciting beers to come!

Clear dark copper color with red tinge and few tan bubbles for a head. Aroma of toffee, caramel, cherry and hint of red wine. Taste of toffee, caramel, raisin and plums and a slightly hoppy finish. Higher carbonation and a luxurious creamy mouthfeel, a little cloying. Overall a very good beer from a lower end brewery. Anybody from Big Rock reading, please step out and try more of these exciting styles, definately by far your best beer.