3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20Draft. Pours a light brown amber body with a thin head. Aroma is etoh, dark fruit, some hop character. Flavor is fruity sweet, with a a moderate warming and some bitter hop character. decent.
4.3 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
Maroon in color and magnificent in smell. Sweet caramel bozziness that drives me wild. Little bit of the burning but it melds well with the rest of the beer. A definite treat
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
2011 vintage. I think this is the right beer, but this year’s was aged in port and sherry barrels. Bright brown colormwith touches of ruby looks great in the snifter. Honey, sherry, cherry, grape jam and a bit of coconut. Alcohol is there, but only when you want it. Some oak and vanilla, but not particularly oaky. Sweet, but truly never cloying. Not finding hops or bitterness, but they’re there just enough to keep it balanced. Very low carbonation is just enough to keep it lively, but dialed back enough to make this the sipper it should be. Not a knockout but no flaws, plenty to enjoy, everything’s in perfect balance. Spot on.
4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
Pours deep, hazy gold into a tulip. Bright white head with excellent retention recedes to coat surface. Orange resin, sweet out and bourbon aromas. Slick with upfront caramel and bourbon front to back. Lasting bourbon burn.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
From tap at the brewpub. Pours hazy to almost murky orange with a small white head. Aroma is malty dense, light overripe fruity note and mild hoppy touch. Sweet, dense malty to caramelish. Light overripe fruity touch. Bitter and lingering sweet caramelish finish.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
A deep amber with dried fruit notes right off the bat. These notes drive an almost carmalized flavor through the palate, and a nice sweet finish.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
NOTE: I’m entering this rating here but I don’t know if I should create a new entry. This rating is for the Blunderbuss Barleywine served at Boston Extreme Beer Fest 2009. It was described as “Blunderbuss Barleywine (Sherry Oak-Aged) CBC’s 2008 Blunderbuss aged in sherry oak and served via gravity tap; 11.0%”. Does this deserve a separate entry? bm me if I should create a new entry for this batch
In short: A sweet alcoholised fruity ale with notes of Sherry. Not bad but not interesting either.
How: Cask at Boston Extreme Beer Fest 2009
The look: Clear golden body with almost no head
In long: Sweet crunchy honeyed cereals reminding me of an ice-cream cone (without the ice-cream). Dried light-color fruits (apricots, pears, pineapples, etc.). Some crisp caramel. The advertise Sherry oak is somewhat subtle and if it wasn’t for the description I don’t think I would have picked sherry or sherry oak as a flavour. I would have just said there was some sour cherries along with the dried fruits flavour. Alcohol very apparent. Boring mouthfeel. Floral hops with a flower juicy petals feeling. Not bad but kind of disappointing. I haven’t had their original barley wine yet but judging by this disappointing brew I’m pretty sure the sherry oak aging improved the beer as much as whiskey barrel aging can improve a country music CD.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
2007 Vintage on tap at CBC during the 2009 Barleywine Festival. Body is a semi transparent chocolate brown with a thin whispy white head. The nose is full of smoke and sweet malts with notes of cherries and apples in the background. The initial flavor is mostly smoke and a robust oak flavor that hides the sweetness very well. As those sensations fade the sticky sweet dry fruit rises up, like apricots and plums. The ending malts are very strong and chewy and made me almost feel like I was getting a cold. Really, I just kept drinking and drinking until it was gone because that initial oaky blast is just devine.
3.8 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
On tap. Pours dark cherry amber with thin off-white head. Aroma is thick sweet malts and caramel. Taste is sweet brandy and dark fruits with a little oak. A little bitterness in the finish. Strong alcohol. Good, but not great.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
draft at the brewpub..... pours a dark amber brown with a mainly off-white head which slowly dimiinished to a milder level towards the edges...aroma of aged dark fruit and toffee like malt with a fair amount of sweet brandy like barrel aging..... flavors of dark fruit and a nice barrel aging charactier but it still remains pretty hot overall. carbonation level was a little high to my llking and the finsh left it somewhat boozy.... i really liked this one and would love to measure it up to ba angel’s share.
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