Bull & Bush Royal Oil

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

Serve in Snifter

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Sampled at the 5th Annual Boulder Strong Ale Fest. Beer is nearly opaque dark brown without any head to speak of.<P> The aroma is malty with moderate notes of smokey roasted grain and chocolate, light notes of biscuit, molasses and malt syrup; Hoppy with trace notes of tangy herb; Yeasty with a trace of basement; Light-to-moderate miscellaneous notes of cherry/berry, wood and burbon, trace note of roasted coconut.<P> The flavor is moderately-to-heavily sweet, lightly bitter with an average-length, moderately sweet finish.<P> The body is full, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is soft.<P> Desserty and rich. Luxe, complex and sweet. Enjoyable.

12th October 2008
On tap at the brewpub. Hazy amber brown beer. Low carbonation. Sweet thick barleywine with hints of vanilla wood. Very smooth indeed. Dangerously easy drinking!

Beer Bloggers Conference 2010 – Boulder, CO - The Night of Beers…
Dark brown in color, clear with a thin head. Big sweet aroma oak barrel and whiskey aroma. This was very sweet bourbon flavored with a big alcohol finish. This would be a perfect after dinner drink.

Fresh wood barrel, syrup/walnut aroma. An apple-cideresque hazy brown. A nice warming whiskey barrell syrupy walnut flavor.

Had a whole lot of this beer on draft as I was pouring for Bull & Bush at GABF. This was my favorite of their lineup there. The appearance is a thick medium nut brown color, and a large two-finger yellowish head sits on top of the beer. Amazing aroma of caramel, toffee, port wine, sweet cherries, oak, and whiskey. Really a heavenly smell, similar to Angel’s Share or something of the like. The flavor is a little over-the-top sweet, but other than that it’s amazing. Big-time caramel malts and sweet toffee, candied dates, sugar plums, and cherries, with a subtle and well-integrated whiskey barrel note. Very decadent. Thick and rich on the mouthfeel with average carbonation, full body, and a slick, oily texture. An excellent -bal aged barleywine. I really love this style, and this is a great example of it.

Crushed at BSAF 10. Pretty sweet brew. Very fruity with some vanilla and other whiskey notes. More sweet than anything, but pretty solid.

Pours an opaque muddled brown with an yellow tinted off-white head. Nose is a bit extreme: big fusel alcohol, bourbon, sweetness. Flavor is very sweet and boozy. Thick, thick palate but I really didn’t want to drink much of this.

icky, sticky, oily and sweet. it’s in the vein of angels share and actually quite good... dumb luck or skill? heavy sweetness up front resembles port or port reduction... sweetened, candied plums and dates and other natural sugars give it some authenticity. bourbon character is sweet plum/brandy/dates with the sugar overpowering any wood character that could otherwise be noticed. it’s a big one and doesn’t hide it’s booze at all, but in small doses and as a dessert beer it’s quite good.

Boulder Strong Fest 2010. Red/brown orange and black... this beer looked wild with almost no head. Aroma is sticky, sugary, pecan pie. Flavor is boiled down sugar water, peach, and other fruit. I burped pecan pie while drinking this. Brownie with nuts in flavor and burning booze. As it warms, a little too artificial cough syrupy, but not really. Similar texture though. Somehow still really awesome...top couple of this fest.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours the color of bourbon, a clear dark reddish brown. Has a medium white head that thins out fast. Super thick pancake syrup. It’s a bit over the top with all the sweetness. I think this beer could benefit from more attenuation to a lower gravity or at least they could have used some really big-ass hops to balance out all the sugars.

I haven’t much liked the brewery, but they were serving this one up at the GABF. It’s inconceivably good. Melted caramel, outlandishly rich. Brown sugar, warming alcohol, has a dessert wine vibe to it. Just outrageous, unique, and completely excellent.