Boulder Beer Killer Penguin Barleywine

Brewed by Boulder Beer Company
Style: Barley Wine
Boulder, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

2006 Bottle Vintage, sampled August 2007
I’ll admit to the fact that I have been sort of avoiding this beer for quite some time; I haven’t heard too many great things about it, but there is only one way to really know.

Topped by a frothy, initially three finger thick, tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is a lightly hazed, reddish amber colored brew. Up front the aroma is a concentrated mix of hop and malt character. Almost immediately though it starts to pick up a note reminiscent of rancid cheddar cheese, fungal focused mushrooms, and dirty old socks; somehow these lost, out of place aromatic notes bring a smile to my face as they make me think how much I would like to be smelling a funky Lambic beer right now. Alas this is no lambic, and the funk just gets in the way of the concentrated malt and hop character that should be the sole focus of this beer. The malt and hop aromatics are noticeable, in fact they are bigger than the funk (which is just so out of place that it is quite noticeable); notes of caramel, toasted grain, sweet citrus and a herbal, almost menthol-like hop character. Interestingly enough the super funky aromatics seem to dissipate, for the most part, after a short bit of time leaving nothing but a tainted memory for the nose to live through.

The flavor is lightly sweet for a beer of this stature; the malt sweetness is well balanced by a herbal hop character and bitterness. Candied grapefruit peel, a zesty carbonation, notes of pine and a touch of minty basil help to balance and even at times show up the malt character of this beer. The malt character focuses on crystal malt like notes of caramel, toasted grain, sweet raisins, brown sugar coated biscuits, and even some hints of roasted malt character in the finish (perhaps reminiscent of almost black toast, or even lightly roasted, spent coffee grounds. The beer has a solid bitterness, though it is certainly not on the high end for an American-styled Barleywine.

The aroma of this beer started out down-right wrong, but seemed to correct itself after being allowed to breath for a bit. Luckily by the time I got to the taste, the really weird funky notes had almost all but disappeared, if they were ever noticeable. In the end this beer is quite a bit more enjoyable that I had feared; part of this may have been my initial low expectations and the fact that the aroma started out so poorly; the beer recovered though and has become quite a tasty tipple. The lesson, definitely let this beer sit for a while after you pour it to give it a chance to breath and open up.

Pours an amber with an off white head and aroma of fruit and malt. Taste is sweet and complex, of dried fruits, alcohol, and malt, heavy mouthful, with a warming alcohol finish. A sipper that is a solid barleywine.

Pours ruby rudy with a nice soft head. Nose is fruity and sweet, with hints of alcohol. Taste is tart and bitter. Landing is dry, medium and bitter. Not as much flavor as I was hoping. Quaff Score 5 /10

Bottle 2011. Pours orange-brown with an off-white head. Slightly sweet aroma of dried fruits, caramel and piney hops. Moderately sweet flavor of caramel, dried fruits, brown sugar and piney hops. Nice slightly bitter hop finish.

Poured from a bomber into a miniature snifter. Appearance is dark amber with a thin white head of foam that lingers a good bit of time. Aroma is roasty caramel malt with dark fruits and plums playing a dominant role. Taste is somewhat sweet with little hop influence to speak of. Alcohol presence is minimal, if at all. Good barleywine. Not sure why the ratings seem so low on this one.

Fairly disappointing! The flavor is medicinal and very one dimensional. As a fan of this style, I have to say this is not one of the best. The aroma is the best part with scents of malt and brown sugar. I would have expected more from Boulder.

Pours a red brown with a thin off-white head. Aroma is piney hops, burnt sugar, and dark fruit. Taste is much the same - a decent BW.

03-May-10 (22-oz bottle: Purchased 30-Dec-09 for $8.16 at www.liquidsolutions.net)
With barley wines being one of my favorite styles, I’m always excited to try a new one, but that makes it even more disappointing when something like this hits my palate. This barley wine is extraordinarily floral, perfumy, sugary, and fruity, with some grassy hops in the mix, but it is seriously lacking malty richness. Heavy caramely malt flavor in the entry, but the finish descends into a bath of sugary perfume and bitter grain huskiness. Light to moderate carbonation and medium-full in body, though the weight seems sugary rather than malty. The nose offers a bit richer malt character with a touch of earthiness, and as a result, the perfumy and floral hoppiness is somewhat tempered, but alcohol fumes are also apparent. Clear in appearance and amber in color, with a pretty, off-white head initially occupying the top inch of the glass before gradually settling to a filmy layer. Definitely not my style of barley wine.

Aroma is malty and sweet. flavor is metalic and malted. Descent barley wine but not worth the wax dip!

Pours reddish brown with a thin white head. The aroma is dominated by piney hops, but not much else. Some brown sugar perhaps. The flavor is thin and so is the body. Sweet on the open, bitter on the finish, but not overly complex. Pass.

NOSE Metal and alcohol, burnt sugar; APPEARANCE coper with sticky lacing and cafe au lait head; TASTE slightly bitter and sour, syrupy sweet, a bit cloying; PALATE long finish, big body, sticky texture, mild carbonation. I enjoyed it but the aroma was a bit off.