Blue Point Old Howling Bastard

Brewed by Blue Point Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Patchogue, New York USA

Serve in Snifter

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Bought from my favorite bottle shop, tried cold right from the fridge. Pours a dark coppery color, tan head. Aroma is very complex, dark fruity carmel. Pallet is crisp and smooth, with a buttery mouth feel, aftertaste lingers with more carmel. This is what I always imagined a Barley Wine to be like, rich and somewhat thick, and very strong in the ETOH. Even at $9.00 a bottle, is well worth it. Can’t wait to have it again!!!

Blue Point Old Howling Bastard is a slightly hazy golden ale with a huge, fluffy off-white head that has outstanding retention and lacing. The aroma is sweet, like candied fruit, plum and fig. It’s full bodied and syrupy. The finish is sticky. It’s a bit sweet and a bit bitter. The balance is good. The mailt tastes grainy and it seems like there’s some caramel in there. There is a note of juniper. The aftertaste is bitter and boozy. It’s a pretty complex beer. [Sampled at the 2009 Flower City Brewers’ Fest at Frontier Field, Rochester, NY]

Poured from a 22oz. bottle into a stemmed glass. The color is a dark but clear amber color with a finger or two or foamy head. The smell is a hard lemon and is a really strong NY brew. There are some brick walls of grainy fruit flavor that gives a you wallop. The taste is a lot like the aroma, a mix of some really expressive flavor kicks hard. Sweet with a citrus flavor that has a bit of a tangy feel to it ever so slightly. The feel of this beer is light, it has been waiting to jump onto my taste buds and pops a bit right at the end. A reall wonderful beer.

Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured a hazy orange color with a large creamy amber-beige head that left some lacing. The aroma was a wonderful mix of sweet pineapple, mango, orange marmalade, pine and brown sugar. The flavor fell short of the nose but had a pleasant mix of bitter and tart grapefruit, pineapple, pine and orange with undertones of table sugar, caramel, brown sugar and hot peppers. the finish was long, fruity and fairly boozy. Full bodied. Well done.

Bottled in 2000. Those Blue Point people sure do love their hops. I normally don’t enjoy so many hop characteristics in a barley wine, but these guys really pull it off. It tastes like a cross between a very strong IPA and a barley wine. Sweet, malty, VERY hoppy. Vinous, with notes of vanilla and cotton candy? Very impressive. I normally don’t like to lower a rating due to price, but since this is 17 bucks a bottle, I have to kick it down a little.

UPDATED: MAY 3, 2004 2004 Edition. Nice copper color with a minimal head that I find consistant in most barleywines I taste. On tap, it is very consistant and flavorful. Lucky me! Rich bodied, fuiity aroma that also reeks of alcohol. Taste is oh so smooth with an excellent balance and a real kick in the ass.

In the bomber bottle from the House of Beer. Pours dark copper with a thick creamy off white head. Has the aroma of a pineapple upside down cake. Great pineapple flavor. Not super huge in the mouth feel, but the beer does have a stomach burn. This is deceptively strong. Mid palate toffee flavors. I love it.

2000 edition. Hazy honey glow. Creamy thick and sticky off white head. Very light carbonation. Aroma of pineapples, melons, mild caramel, light hops and alcohol. Massive array of complex flavors. Very hoppy, earthy and bright as opposed to the usual pungent and bitter so typical in Americanized barley wines. Fruity backdrop and a slow alcohol burn. Strawberries get in the mix, midway, both in aroma and flavor. This brew has a feisty spiciness and juicy, fruity alcohol taste that evolves in the beginning and lasts until the end. Medium bodied with a light dose of bubbliness. The bottom 1/2 of the bottle is the gem. Not thickly yeasty but it’s there. Swirl and pour. Mellows a bit, thickens and develops a creamy aftertaste. Dryish. Finishes with a light honeyed sweetness and piney hoppiness, all riding the spicy bitterness. Still a bit young but a very solid brew. 2001 version (on tap at the brewery) is richer, maltier, more full bodied and not as hoppy and bitter. Balanced quite well for a young barley wine. However, at $17 a 750ml bottle this is insanely overpriced.

On cask at David Copperfield's in NYC... Lightly hazy, copper/burnt orange ale. Very fruity, malty aroma. Apples, honey, butterscotch, golden raisins. The flavor is also fruity. Red apple and alcohol. Bittered well-enough for balance. Full-bodied with an oily mouthfeel and soft carbonation. Lengthy, alcoholic, bitter finish. Good stuff!

Bottle. Dark amber with a ruby hue. Short beige head. Strong citrus and spicy hops mixed with rich, chewy malt and sweet caramel notes. Taste is big caramel, citrus fruit, melon, sweet, chewy malt, light brown sugar, spicy hops and soft alcohol notes. Body is medium-full and chewy with a dense, bubbly carbonation. Ends with more spicy hosp, citrus oils, orange peel, caramel, sweet malt and hints of brown sugar. Nice stuff!