Blue Point Old Howling Bastard

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

Serve in Snifter

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Cask tumbler at DBA on 1/13/07
Dark beige, creamy head is small but well-retained atop a deep milk-chocolate brown body with very dark violet and auburn tints on the edges. Not bright, but not overly muddy/opaque. More like a medium clarity. Little specks of lace are left behind.
Very sweet notes of chocolate fudge soothe the nose. More challenging notes of light roasted barley impart a pleasant vinousness while a bit of dry breadiness balances things on the backside. The malts never go overboard, however, and the beer keeps a rather elegant air about itself, never getting too thickly sweet or cloying. Light, fresh yeast is quite notable on the end, and while it’s very clean and lightly nutty, it cuts short some of the sweetness with an almost nutty blandness. Medium sweet caramel and light toffee are continually found with more dry breadiness mixing with the dark fruits to give a slight tinge of sourness. Soft, graceful hops are moderately aromatic, juicy and floral and do not show any overdone bitterness. No alcohol noted, medium strength of aroma.
Pleasantly sweet in the mouth, quite velvety with layers of soft caramel, light toffee and milk chocolate. Minor breadiness and a lack of exposed, hard crystal malt is readily apparent here (and looking at the commercial description, that’s probably because there is no crystal malt in it, lol). A touch of prunes and light grapes midway through, finishing with dark chocolate, caramel and green, floral hops. Low carbonation, but no looseness of body for a cask ale. Really free from any syrupiness, sluggishness or cloying sweetness, despite the fact that it manages to stay mostly sweet the entire time. Clean yeast dryness is felt on the end. No warming from alcohol and no flaws. A lighter, less complex example, but done very well for what it is.

Strong malty aroma. Dark amber color with minimal whit head. Almost light bitter, citrus taste. Not much of a finish. A little hops. Not much to this beer. It is ok.

Bottle. Pours a red hazy orange. Medium white head that left my glass very early. Lacing is barely noticeable. Carbonation is heavy. Aromas are extremely hoppy, with english malt, honey, and date spice. Taste is pretty much the same as aroma but brings a sour qaulity up front before the over the top bitter finish. Not my favorite barley.

Aroma of cane sugar, malts and slight pine. pours deep orange with a huge sticky head. Taste is very unremarkable. Sugars, malts and piney hops. Meh.

This barley wine fell short. I had high hopes as i normally do for Blue Point. It was just too thin on the nose and pallet for a barley wine. It had a slightly sour smell and it was a bit too tart. It didn’t posses a good round taste and feel i look for in this style.

Draught from david copperfield. Light brown red clear pour. Strong hopsbut fairly light bodied for a bwine.

22oz bottle in a snifter. Pours deep ruby/copper with a thick, cream-colored head. Aroma of strong caramel and cereal and a lot of hops. Flavor about the same, a little sweet. Smooth texture. Not bad, but nothing really sticks out and the alcohol isn’t hidden well.

To be fair I was heavily intoxicated on st paddys day when I drank this. Also I’ve never had a barleywine so I’m unsure what this class of beers is supposed to be like. Aroma is very nice and fruity. First sip I am put off but kind of intrigued. This is unlike any beer I’ve ever had. It’s very fruity, raspberry cherry and citrus. It has some taste of a red wine. Almost no hops are present. I even get some cocoa at some point. It was rather complex which I liked. The further I got into this beer it became too sweet. It reminded of a raspberry tootsie pop. 6 ounces or so would have been very nice. It is very interesting and worth a try, just not something you want to pound back 22 ounces of.

Sampled at the Trail Magic release party. Pours hazy dark orange with off-white head. The aroma is sweet caramel with raisin and brown sugar. The flavor is wood, raisin, light brown sugar, some rum, pine and a little bit of mold. Finish is boozy with some harsh malty notes. This is one of those BWs that should be served as a cordial.

Not a bad brew. Some caramel, fruit and sweet malt notes. A decent dry finish. Not bad.

22 ounce bottle. A nice clear orange amber body with an off white head that had some retention and even less lacing. Initially aroma had a sweetness to it, strong caramel malts and almost a brown sugar or molasses note to it. Some pine hops and vanilla notes to it. Mild alcohol to it. Flavor was sweet, almost cloying and the hops were a slight bitterness to it. Alcohol seemed well hidden and the beer seemed to go down really easy. I’m not sure of the vintage of this beer, but i cellared it for a year.