 lemasney (314), Trenton, New Jersey, USA
Apr 4, 2008
Brooklyn Barleywine style Monster Ale 2007
ABV: 10.1%
Calories: estimated at 200 C
Volume: 12 fl oz
Glass: Snifter
Purchased at: Circle Liquors, Pennington
Price per fl oz: $3 / 12 fl oz = $0.25 per fl oz
Consumed at: home
sensory first impression: Aroma is dense - a bit chocolatey, very malty. I’m swooning. An amber pour to a ruby red body with a tan off white head. Aroma of sweet wine is very nice. Wow - knocks you over the head with alcohol. Velvety and rich. A little too rich for me I think, but it’s a wonderfully full experience. Angry red color is foretelling.
Aroma/Olfactory: 8 out of 10
Malt flavor is: syrupy, cloying sweet, and burning. chocolate in aroma.
Hop flavor is: citrus, raspberry.
Yeast flavor is: metallic, dirt, sandy, dry
Other flavors include: cherries, alcohol, raspberry, medicine, raisin, sulfur, oak, barley
Visuals/Appearance: 4 out of 5
Color is: pale, amber, orange, red, fiery, ruby
Liquid is: slightly hazy, actively carbonated
Head and lace are: initial off white, tan goes to wispy nothingness.
Taste/Flavor: 7 out of 10
Maltiness or Sweetness level is: heavy, too much.
Hoppiness or Bitterness level is: medium
Sour level is: heavy
Palate/Tactile: 5 out of 5
Body or Mouthfeel is: full!
Texture is: oily, thick, gravitas
Carbonation is: lively
Finish is: astringent, bitter, very long
Overall experience: 16 out of 20. I liked the utter power of it, the color, and the aroma. I did not like how overwhelmingly sweet and alcoholic it was. It’s not for everyday, but it’s something very special. I’ll have it again when I’m eating something I need to balance the flavor of.
theviolet (166), New York, New York, USA
Nov 28, 2008 Aroma of dried dark fruits, and alcohol. I imagined it to smell much more strongly, but wasn’t overwhelming which was welcome.
Dark copper body with a very thin head. Laces well.
A much milder flavor than I imagined, and wasn’t overly sweet. Very balanced and enjoyable. Malt, fruit.
Not too thick, but still not the most enjoyable palate. Good carbonation.
Good barley wine. My favorite that I’ve had in a style I don’t really love. A good beer for someone not too versed in barley wines.
rustychiles (546), Mesa, Arizona, USA
Nov 28, 2008 On tap at the Big Pour in Mesa AZ. Pours a copper color with a small white head. Aroma of yeast, malt, hops. Flavor is malt fruits, caramel, citrus, sugars. Decent Barlewyine.
jimmack34 (161), Ohio, USA
Nov 20, 2008 Bottle. Pours light brown with thick soft head, Smells very hoppy, like grass, pine, and citrus, and like thick malted cereal. Tastes strong, very bitter and sweet, tons of citrus, pine, and very thick tasting malts and fruits, even carmel, as the flavor stay with you for a while. Warms you up as it goes down and the flavor intensifies at it warms. Excellent beer!
santoslhalper (252), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Nov 2, 2008 2005 bottle. 3 years old. A thin off-white head sits beneath a clear copper body. The head disappears quickly and it looks like brandy. The aroma is phenomenal. Age has done wonders to this. Dig, date, raisin, bourbon, port, cherries and caramel. The taste is absolutely sublime. Sticky sweet port and bourbon notes meld with bittersweet chocolate, coffee, caramel, grapes, cherries, berries, plums, raisins, and a great spicy finish. AGE THIS BEER! 3 years in the bottle makes for a masterpiece.
BeerBelcher (800), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Nov 1, 2008 By barley-wine standards, this beer struck me as little better than average. I liked the appearance and aroma, but flavor and mouthfeel disappointed a bit.
This beer had a sparkling body with very minimal head. It smelled good; I noted what to me was a very pleasant cereal quality, and I am not big on cereal- or grainy-flavors. Flavor however was overly grainy, and without the the-mash-is-boiling-and-you’re-in-the-brewhouse notes that I got out of the aroma...more like a malted milk ball, which is not a flavor I am a fan of. Mouthfeel was pretty thin, particularly compared to some other barley-wines I’ve had lately, notably Old Crustacean and Curmudgeon.
Not a terrific effort for this style. I’d only weakly recommend it.
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