Bull & Bush Release the Hounds Barleywine

Brewed by Bull & Bush Pub & Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Denver, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter

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Clear garnet colorwith an off white head.Aromas of plum with some vinous notes. Flavors of plum and pepper with a bitter dry finish.

Tap @ brewpub. 2012 vintage. A bit hazy, red orange appearance with an off white head. Rich fruity, pretty sweet, floral hoppy aroma. Big floral, citrus hoppy flavor with a big, rich fruity, sweet caramel malty flavor. Pretty smooth for 12%.

2012 vintage, called 12%. Pour was deep ruby red with creamy off white head, aroma brought notes of big biscuit and caramel, lots of dark fruits and a big pine and grapefruit hop, more toffee and slight dark fruit notes as well, little to no alcohol. Taste is on the sweet side, surprising after the description of very hoppy, with notes of rich caramel, toffee, dark fruits, molasses all in there with a mix of slight pine and citrus notes, finishing fairly sweet and slightly dry.

Aged version. Amber-brown. Not much head. Subtle apricot and caramel aroma. Refined sugars and light acidity late to balance. Alcohol, estery subtlety. Nice - a refined bw that ages well.

Clear deep ruby copper, gets really dark without a backing light source. Nice foamy off white head. Big dry hopped nose. Taste was big and hoppy, like a DIPA more than a Barleywine. Flavor starts malty sweet, like oranges and sugar, grainy malt. But then the hops take over and it’s bitter (but not too much), dry hopped goodness with leafy citrusy grassy tones. A little "green" and vegetal, but it all comes together very nicely. Malty bitter with lovely dry hop.

Tap at the brewpub - this version was highly hopped and 11% abv - a hoppy-ass American style barley wine - because of this, the Bigfoot comparisons are inevitable - this doesn’t hold up - assertive hoppiness at first that works well with some of the estery character of the beer - sticky sweet maltiness, toffee - a bit of sherry character - alcohol is warming at first, but too strong in the finish, combining with a now harsh malt character that combines to create a slightly medicinal finish - starts off okay, but ends on a low note.

On tap at Bull and Bush. They served it to me in a large chalice. The color was ruby red with a minimal white head. The smell was fruity and inviting. The taste was straight wood. Seriously, it tasted like I was chewing a pencil or something. if this was oaked, they oaked it too long or too much. I’m not sure what the ABV was but this beer had a serious kick to it. Serving type: on-tap Reviewed on: 03-23-2007 15:05:24

Sampler at the Bull & Bush Pub & Brewery, Denver 11/10/2007 Strong hop aroma. Amber coloured very strong in alcohol slightly rich on the palate and fruity with a crisp and bitter warming finish

On tap at the Bull & Bush brewpub. Pours a very cloudy and opaque mud brown body with a big, thick, creamy dirty beige head that dissipates very slowly and remains extremely lacy. Pretty nice looking beer. Poured into a challace and actually looks like a beer fit for royalty. Pretty sexy with the head dripping down the side of the glass. And this is where my initial attraction faded...Aroma is mainly sweet syrup. No hops at all. Lots of sugary malts, candy sugar, and dark fruits...but no hops! Smells kind of old, but not in a good way. Like a musty, moth filled closet. Flavor is a little better because it actually has a hop bitterness, which surprised me. I thought I was going to be drinking pancake syrup after initially smelling this. Anyways...lots of syrupy sweet caramel malts and an abundance of toffee. Moves into a dark berry fruit and resiny sugar middle before finishing pretty woody and dry. The hops kick in at the end and actually have an increasing flavor as this lingers. Palate is soapy, syrupy, sticky, and medium bodied. Overall, I’m pretty disappointed. Way too sweet and syrupy. At least some hops kick in at the end otherwise I may have left this glass full. If only it smelled/tasted as good as it looked.

Crushed with Jakebra at BSAF. Hoppy apple juice? Can small the damn alcohol. Flavor is the same. Thin-bodied and poopy. Not impressed. Kinda makes me sick it’s so sweet.

[Feb 22, 2009]
ON tap at the brewpub. Pours a murky brown with a well formed head. The aroma is very syrupy, musty, and has a notable wooden character. The carbonation is pretty low. It was hard for me to get through this whole pint. The sticky sweetness compounds about halfway through and it becomes a chore. However, there is enough woody bitterness and complexity to keep things interesting.