Bristol Old No. 23 Barley Wine

Brewed by Bristol Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Colorado Springs, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter

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UPDATED: APR 22, 2009 12oz bottle 2006 just a few months old, this was my second BW today during the great blizzard of Colorado ’06. pours a rather dark brown with reddish hue and a nice head. aroma is rather weak, hints of maple syrup, alcohol, and slight hops. flavor has some mild baker’s chocolate notes that gets annoying as i drink, brown sugar, maple syrup, solid malty base, with slight alcohol coming through but not much for 11.25%. overall nothing special but a drinkable BW. i’m aging a few so we’ll see how it ages. 3.2.

4/19/09, 2006 vintage aged 3 years. pours hazy prune with khaki head. nose of maple syrup, port, caramel, and raisins. flavors of rasins, caramel, chocolate, with a dry woody finish. med body. low carbonation. still not very oxidized at all. i’d say this improved quite a bit but still nothing special. thin mouth feel. 3.6.

2011 bottle from wchesser, thanks Will! Aroma has notes of sweet caramel, brown sugar, figs, toasted malts, raisin, faded citrus hops and toffee. Hazy dark brown hue with a small off-white head that mostly diminished and left ok lace. Flavor is very sweet and medium bitter. Palate is full bodied and watery soft with a clean light finish. Overall a well aged Barley Wine that has a great nose and good flavor. Aged very well over the past year. Body is a little light but the alcohol is completely hidden. Very well done Bristol!

Poured a murky brown, almost cola-like color with little to no head. Smells of caramel, toffee, alcohol, vanilla, and wood. Taste starts out malty/sweet, some vanilla & toffee in there and finishes with medium bitterness. Aftertaste is kind of hoppy but also on the boozy side. Pretty good.

Bottle @ Timbers, Denver. Pours dark brown with a creamy offwhite head, nice sized for the style and the ABV. Aroma of malt, caramel, toast, sweet fruit, raisins, hops. Taste brady malt, caramel, nuts, raisins, fruit, bitter pinelike hops, some booze. Medium body soft carbonation, light warming alcohol in the finish. Nice brew, easy drinking. 030312

Sampled from a cask at the 2012 Firkin Rendezvous @ Bristol. Dark burnt copper with very little head. Has a big rich aroma of figs, raisin, brown sugar, and plum. Very rich aroma. Flavor isn’t as smooth--kinda harsh with a little soapy tone, but has a rich dark taste of raisins, dark sweet malts, and figs with a slight cherry tone, but the off-flavor of soap is just too much for me to finish.

Sample shared at Jackie O’s. This Barley Wine is a brown color with a medium light beige head that recedes steadily. Short stringy lacing. Aroma of bready malt, caramel and hops. Rich body with flavors of bready malt, caramel and resiny hops. The finish is sweet and malty at first, resolving to a moderately bitter piney hops aftertaste. Decent overall.

Bottle shared by Dogbrick. Clear copper/brown pour with a thin beige head. Aroma of grainy malt, caramel, chocolate, crisp hop and some fruit. Chocolate and caramel malt flavor with some graininess and a bit of fruit in the finish.

2009 bottle. Pours dark brown, very hazy with little head. Malty, sweet nose. Taste is very sweet, with a malty roasty burn on the end. Full, thick , rich body. Granted not my favorite style but this is a decent beer.

12oz bottle (2010) from Supermarket liquors in Fort Collins
Appearance: Pours clear dark amber/brown with a small beige head and some lacing
Aroma: Sweet malts, caramel and pine
Taste: Sweet malts, dusty caramel, piney, dark fruit and some hot alcohols
Very nice, enjoyable. I would love to get a few more and cellar to see what happens.

Bottle @ home. Dark purple brown appearance with a small tan head. Very sweet, berry, caramel malty, light toffee, light spiciness, mild hoppy nose. Very sweet, smooth caramel malty, red fruity, earthy hoppy flavor. Big sweet caramel malty aftertaste. A surprisingly nice brew.

12 oz bottle purchased at Dillon Ridge Liquors in Dillon, Colorado. 2010 notched on the side of the label. Pour is quite dark golden brown, with a small and loose tan head. Dissipates almost right away. Aroma is darkly toasted malt, along with a floral sweetness and a less pronounced dried fruit. Hint of iodine as well. Taste is the floral, though it is a spiced dry floral rather than sweet, along with the mildly salty dried fruit. The malt is present, but is a touch thin and dry, opening up to a pretty hot finish. Palate is medium bodied, nice un filtered mouth feel, a bit oily, though that clears up with the hot dry finish. I have not had a Barley Wine in awhile, so I enjoyed drinking this. Nice beer, glad I grabbed it.