Bluegrass Bearded Pats Barleywine Style Ale

Brewed by Bluegrass Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Louisville, Kentucky USA

Serve in Snifter

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Suprised to open my box of goodies and find a barleywine from Kentucky. Now, I think of Bourbon, racehorses and bluegrass when I hear the word Kentucky along with some sort of scene straight outta Deliverance. Okay, so the last part was a joke (not really). So am I to start thinking that Kentucky can make barleywines now? Well, not so fast. This beer was a decent showing, but I could probably count the brewers in Kentucky on two hands. I’ll need more evidence to support that theory.

The beer pours out a deep rusty reddish/brown/orange color. It looks like something you’d find at the bottom of a rust pot. A nice thick creamy head shows up, much to my suprise. Aroma is caramel, brown sugar, with some orange juice character showing up. The main effect in the aroma is sweetness. A sweet malt/bitter hops combo lingers on the palate. Sugary maltiness fills the moutha and after a sip or two the citrusy zest of the hops bites back. Fairly smooth on the palate. Finishes with a slight sheen of bitterness at the edges of the mouth. A decent showing. Nothing great, but for my first beer from Kentucky it might just erase any sort of association with inbred country hillbillies and shotguns. Okay, maybe not.

2006 vintage. Damn this has gotten pretty good with age. Hazy purple pour with decent offwhite big bubble head and semisticky lacing. Sweet raisin molasses nose with mellow yeast character. Flavor is more fruity. Plum, raisin, currants, bitter almost astringent finish, but that must be the old hops. this actually gets a little worse the more I drink it. Some medicinal bandaid notes as it warms. a little oxidized, but i guess that’s my own fault. still, pretty tasty bw.

12oz bottle from local bottle shop in Arlington, VA. Pours brownish-orange semi-translucent with almost no head... What there is is so minimal as to make me wonder about the carbonation. Aroma is rich and sweet of caramel, nuts, wood, and dry malt. Taste is dry, subdued, and sweet. Nuts, toffee, and a mild bitterness that balances everything out. ABV is EXCEPTIONALLY well hidden. A nice, smooth, brew.

750ml bottle from beernbourbon. Clear amber with a light beige head. Aroma of caramel, flowers, citrus and brown sugar. Flavor is sweet bready, caramel malt with some bitter american hops and a light alcohol heat. Medium body with soft carbonation and a sweet, bitter finish. Nice American style Barley wine, a bit sweet but still very enjoyable.

Pours a beautiful ruby-copper body with a lasting ring of beige-light khaki colored head. Aromas of toffee, pine, some citrus notes. Flavor is toffee, subtle pine and lemongrass. Finish is that toffee again with a tough of bitterness and dryness that fade.

Bottle with same label as pictured, thanks for the share, it tasted of your typical barley wine with nice notes of currents and dates, it had a funny bitterign bite at the back but it was pretty decent stuff.

Bottle at dark lord day. Thanks a lot for the share. Poured light brown with small head. Not a lot of hops coming through but a little grassy/floral bite to it at the end. I enjoyed this a lot. Would have again.

12oz bottle. Looks dark. Aroma of roasted malts, a little smokiness, and some strong floral hops. Flavor more like a hoppy porter than a barleywine. Smooth texture. A pretty good beer.

From the Jug at the GABF, Colorado Convention Center Denver 16/09/2010 Fruit and hop aromas. Bronze coloured fruity and strong in alcohol with a hint of bitterness in a full malt finish.

Unfiltered brown,minimal head. smells like a barleywine.taste of mollasses and brown sugar. Average mouthfeel. Not so drinkable or interesting.Tomthompson’s bottle.

Pours a rich mahogany, with a tight tan head. The nose is lots of malt sweetness, molasses, caramel and touches of chocolate. The same flavours dominate the taste and being very smooth with superbly integrated alcohol makes it very nice.