Cigar City / Swamp Head Church on a Hill

Brewed by Cigar City Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Tampa, Florida USA

Serve in Snifter

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Draft and bottle from Cigar City. Pours a semi clear mohagany red with an off white head. Boozy, caramel and dried pitted fruit aroma. Flavor is quite sweet bit has a nice bit of bitterness in the finish. The high alcohol is noticeable but pretty smooth considering the strength. Very nice overall.

Small sample poured at Knightly Spirits during Campeador Greaves release. Not a big barley wine guy myself but this seemed very easy to drink with nice notes of roasted barley and malts. ABV seems to be very well hidden here as well.

Draft. Pours deep red brown with a thin head. Fruity sweet aroma with toast, raisin and candy. The flavor has sweet fruity malts, toffee, and lightly toasted malts. Good stuff.

This was a great barley wine. It had a nice orange body, and smelled just like cherries and booze. Flavors were a little more complex, with lots of fruits and alcohol - it reminded me of Twizzlers. The finish was warm and boozy with a nice dry finish. Good stuff here.

Tap at Cigar City. This one poured a nice dark brown with a mother-of-pearl colored head. Nose is big booze, some light cherry, caramel, and more booze. Taste is similar with loads of caramel/toffee malt and a bit of fruity esters. Booze is all over this one but still a good brew that would be even better after it ages for a while.

750 mL bottle from Cigar City. Pours a hazy orange- gold with an off-white head. Nose is caramel, toffee, booze, and some fruit. Flavor is similar with caramel and toffee up front, some berries and booze in the mid, and booze with some fruit in the finish. Medium in body and a cellarable beer.

On tap @ CCB during the bottle release. Deep brown pour with lots of reddish highlights, one finger of off-white head. Lots of malt in the nose with toffee and a nice fruitiness. Warming and sweet - malt forward (as an English Barleywine should be) with a great fruity and caramel linger. I liked this slightly better than Roosevelt - glad I brought a bottle back to Dallas to age.

This is the sister beer to Roosevelt, the American style barley wine collab by CCB and Swamphead. Pours a dark reddish brown with little head. Smells of toffee, sweet fruits and slight hops. It is malty and sweet in the mid-palate, with caramel, toffee and sweet fruits again. Very rich and warming mouthfeel. It is both sweeter and less hoppy than the Roosevelt which is how it should be. An outstanding offering from CCB/Swamphead.

sample at Coles Barleywine Competition 2012. Coper colored pour, Sweet rich maltiness. Boozy, Big maltiness, needs to develop IMO.

Tap @ Blind Tiger Feb 1 w James and Streets. Dark pour. Boozey, resinous and viscous. Wasn’t quite sludge, but a full body and heavy mouthfeel. Notes of raisin and fudge.