Cambridge Blunderbuss Barleywine

Brewed by Cambridge Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Cambridge, Massachusetts USA

Serve in Snifter

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On tap at CBC when we stopped for a late lunch before Night of the Barrels. Pours a hazed brown with a thin white to beige head. Big and sweet, caramel, soft bitterness. Big and bitey, lots of warmth. Boozy, warming and toasty. Lots of malt, warm toast. Spicy, warm plums, toast. Very nice but definitely not for me. A touch too hot.

At Avery Strong Ale Fest 2013--slightly hazy dark amber with a generous off-cream head. Aroma was sticky and assertive with lots of boozy toffee and malty syrup, with some cherries and raisins and a strong grassy hop presence. Flavor is big and full, with boozy toffee graininess, some grassy and piney assertive bitterness, a slight stone fruit tone, and finishing hoppy bitter and malty sweet. Aftertaste of piney bitterness. Really big palate and pretty complex.

Tap @ Boulder Strong Ale Fest 2013. Pours a dark reddish orange appearance with a tan head. Light garbage, caramel, somewhat sugary aroma. The flavor also had a hint of veggies and garbage with other notes of toasted malts, sweetness, and light fruits. One of my least favorite beers of the fest.

On tap at Avery Strong Ale Fest poured a hazy reddish amber with a lasting amber head. Aromas of toffee, carmel, earthinmess and tobaccvo. Palate was medium bodied and smooth with a dry finish. Flavors of toffee, tobacco, earthiness and sherry with a smooth dry lingering sherry finish.

Tap. Big sweet toasted toffee. Brown sugar. Touch of boozy rum cake. Nuts. Figs. Okay. Too big and rich 2 me.

Sampled at the 2012 American Craft Beer Festival. Flavor strong of the caramel malts. A pretty good barley wine.

2011 on tap at the brewpub. Pours a rich ruby-amber colored body with a finger-width, dense and creamy, light brown head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing throughout. Aroma is sweet caramels, slightly buttery toffee, dark fruits, and a nice molasses up front with some light wood notes, sherry, a bit of syrupy sweetness, a hint of toast, and a light earth. Flavor is similar. Molasses, toffee, and dark fruits up front with a nice sherry note, darker caramels, and wood up front. Some light earth in the middle with a touch of buttery toast before this finishes sweet with a light dryness from the wood and some sherry. Lengthy aftertaste following a full, slightly syrupy body with a light carbonation. Overall, a pretty solid barley wine. Nice malt backing and sweet overall, but no hint of alcohol and a nice, light wood and sherry note along with some dark fruits. This was really enjoyable.

2011 Blunderbuss on tap at the brewery, 2/28/11. Dark amber pour, very still in the glass. Only a white ring around the top of the beer. 4. Aroma of iced tea and ruby port wine.8. Sweet, syrupy, and luxurious in the mouth. Very much like a port. 8 Reminds me of Sam Adams Utopias without the high cost! Moderately full mouthfell 4. O: 18

Another beer consumed during the EBF weekend without proper notes, but I really don’t need them for this beer because it rocked my palate. This was outstanding! Great flavor and aroma of dried fruit and caramel. Would love to consume an entire glass on just an empty stomach because this might fill me up fast.

Draft at the Cambridge Brewing. Clear ambar color with tall foamy head and nice lace. Sweet honey aroma with a trace of anise and wood. Strong alcohol flavor, sweet malt and flowery hops. Drinks like cognac or fine whiskey.