Black Raven Malt and Vine III

Brewed by Black Raven Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Redmond, Washington USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Bomber from Malt & Vine. Pours orange gold with a foamy white head. Nice spicey orange zest aroma. Medium plus body with foamy carbonation. This stuff has something of a bite - assume that’s the zest. It’s definitely dry, rather tart, arguably earthy, grassy and arguably other stuff. Maybe peppery. There is a lot going on with this. The rye seems discernible. Not for the mouth that wants to relax. This beer demands attention. Excellent.

Seems to have sweetened over the months as I’m getting more of the orange peel and rye on the nose and not the gentle tartness I remember from release. Looks light bodied in the glass, hazy amber. Remains gently tart in the sip followed by the pepper and orange peel, finishes on the syrupy side of sweet, though light on the palate. However, this beer was proceeded by a dozen sour beers so maybe my palate isn’t to be trusted in this case.

Draft at M&V is dense, honey golden, somewhat cloudy, with a half inch thick white head and fair lacing. Aroma is mild wheat and rye with citrus and bread. Thick and chewy on the tongue, with spices that come off very similar to coriander. Great complexity in a really refreshing brew. Can’t wait for the bottled run to hit the shelves.

Draft at M&V for release. Pours a lightly hazed dark honey golden with some dirty gray tint to it. Small yet tight and uniform white head with spotty lacing. Nice subtle nose...some honey, orange, spicey rye, light pepper, faint herbal notes and well as light lactic tartness. Body is medium to medium light in feel with a very smooth almost creamy carbonation. The sour mash is very evident in the flavor, throughout. Honey, rye, orange, herbal...almost tea like...light pepper. Another wheat wine that is quite different than others before it. Like the sour mashing and the rye, but would had liked more body and more depth to the grain bill to add more sweetness.

750, capped and waxed. Pours a cloudy dark orange with a dense, surging fizzy white head that settles down to a slim rim and a little loose film. Mild nose of oranges and caramel, surprisingly understated. Creamy medium body, pushing up to a higher level of heaviness for sure but not quite crossing over into goop territory. Plenty of active carb. Lots of oranges and orange peel on the mid palate. Tart sharp orange juice concentrate note in there as well...wonder whether maybe that’s the nettles. Longish tart finish. Pretty decent beast.

Big thanks to riversideAK for sending me this green waxed bottle. It pours pure clear gold with off white head. The aroma offers up maltiness as well as some grapefruit hops, some spicy hops and a bit of floral as well. The taste if similar although it seems blunted with age. I get some spicy hops, some pine and citrus as well with a thin layer of smooth sweet malts underneath. It seems to end with aged smooth hoppiness and sweet malts that lean more toward the malt side as a sense of roasted malts takes this into the after taste. – Probably should have cracked this one sooner.

Bottle shared by alexsadad06. Poured hazy copper color with an average off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate to heavy barley & rye malt, citrus hop and pepper aroma. Moderate to full smooth texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy spice sweet flavor to medium sweet finish of moderate to long duration. My expectations where met with a complex beer.

Botella. Unclear deep golden colour. Fruity caramel sweet yeasty like aroma. Good mouthfeel. Flavour is sweet and fruity with caramel, bit spiced with some alcohol and bitterness. Pleasant.

29-MAR-2011, bottle @Papsø tasting. Golden, white head. Weak fruity nose. Taste is lovely. Slightly sweet and fruity. Not much hops, ends bitter though. Nice brew.

Golden pour, modest, tight white head. Fairly light aroma of spice, orange, gentle sweetness. Tastes of honey sweetness, light toastiness and rye flavors, citrus, peppery spice. Overall, this is a pretty subtle, gentle beer that I would not expect to be 9%. Fairly thin body, I could have gone for a richer feel. Awesome springtime beer, though.