Blue Point Old Howling Bastard

amber pour sweet smoke aromas very sweet flavors medium body not much to this one

Bottle. Pours a brown liquid body with a thin off white head. Aroma/flavor is caramel, sweet malt, smoky and vinous.

2003 vintage bottle shared at Cornboys Barleywine Blind. Pours copper with an off white head. Aroma has tons of smoke about it, very odd for a BW indeed. The smoke comes through to the flavor as well and is accompanied by some grainy notes. Where is the sweetness? Odd barleywine and a let down.

2000 Vintage 750ml bottle via trade a long time ago. Green Wax on top. Thought about opening it the other night but it wouldn’t fit in my cooling thing so now I’m drinking it now, yes, I know too much information, but I felt like typing it so I did. Pours bubbly amber and slightly dark with a 1.5 finger tan head. Nose is sweet and malty and not rich enough for a barleywine. Taste is showing its age, a true barleywine should be superb 8 years out but this is not by any means superb. The taste is sweet and malty but kind of dead. I hope I didn’t trade anything to special for this beer. Its a pretty big ehh. Actually close to a Drain Pour if you ask me.

I am a fan of the barley wine style. With that said, I have to express some surprise with this beer. I would normally expect something very malty and sweet on the nose and the palate. Some, like Monster Ale, are balanced with hops, to the extent that they have an astringent finish. This guy wasn’t very aromatic at all. The aroma had a slight tinge of malt, with some hops, resembling a pale lager almost. It had a toasted orange appearance, with a white head. The taste was weak, a little sweetness, with some hop bitterness on the finish. I will say that the alcohol is pretty well hidden. Not terrible, but nowhere near worth the $16 for a 750 ml bottle. Still, as a Long Islander, I have to support the Blue Point Brewery somewhat.