Cincinnati Beer Week Barley-wine Ale

Brewed by Mt. Carmel Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Cincinnati, Ohio USA

Serve in Snifter

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12 oz. bottle from Dutch’s. Pours a clear deep reddish amber/copper color with a medium sized off white head. The aroma is mildly toasted caramel malts with a noticeable citrus hop component. Lighter floral notes and some alcohol are also present. The flavor has more of the toasted caramel malts and a strong hop component. The alcohol is noticeable, but not distracting. I get a slight spicy note before this moves to a dry, herbal bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied and worth a try. I am curious to see how this develops over time. At the same time I am encouraged that some of our local breweries are moving in this direction.

12 oz. bottle from alexsdad06- thanks again, Brad! Pours a hazy amber color with a small off-white head that settles into a lasting film. Aroma of caramel malts, toasted brown sugar, citrusy hops, pine resin, prunes, plums, and a woody, leafy note. Flavor of leafy, citrusy hops, grapefruit, and raisins, turning into sweeter and maltier, with caramel hops, brown sugar, toast, and finally a warming finish. More complexity than I had anticipated based on my first whiff. Medium-bodied, with a resinous, malty mouthfeel and medium carbonation, but only early. Nice collaborative effort on this barleywine.

Draft at Arnold’s on February 29, 2012--glad they held some of this back beyond Cincinnati Beer Week. Dark brown hazy hue, small tan head that mostly lasted with fair lacing, appealing sweet/spicy aroma with some hops in there as well, rich and sublime bittersweet flavor with strong fruity and reisin notes plus pretty lively hops--I can see why some consider this beer to be at least something of an IPA. Very triumphant offering from a group of local breweries, and a fine choice for my 200th rating. Hopefully this brew is a sign of many good things to come on the Greater Cincinnati beer scene. We really do have it better with our local/regional breweries than a lot of similarly sized cities--Moerlein, Listermann, Mt. Carmel, Rivertown, Red Ear, Great Crescent--and 2012 is bringing, by my count, no less than five new brewers: Double Barrel, Blank Slate, Brew River Gastropub, Mad Tree, and a brewpub at Heritage Grand. Instead of complaining that we don’t hae a Bells or Stone or a bunch of Belgian monks, let’s support, at the very least, the better offerings by our local brewers, encourage them to expand their offerings, and spread the word to others. Let’s do all we can to return Cincinnati to its rightful place as a major brewing capital!

Poured into a snifter. 5.0 A: Tranluscent or opaque (can’t really tell which) plum color. Two and a half fingers of creamy beige head with excellent retention and plenty of lacing. 4.5 S: Wow, this is hoppy as hell. Super floral, super dank, super citrus. Orange and mango predominate. Underneath there are notes of caramel and toffee. This is every bit a DIPA. Booze is well hidden. 4.5 T: Solid mix of hops and malts. Again floral and citrus with orange leading the way. Some notes of pine and grapefruit as well. Lots of hop flavor without a lot of hop bitterness. Caramel and toffee maltiness. Some light fruitiness as well. Solid. 4.0 M: Heavier medium body. Carbonation is on the higher end for the style, but it works pretty well here. Frothy creaminess abounds. 4.5 D: Really surprising. Mt. Carmel makes some damn mediocre beers, but this is a splendid treat. I think I may have to pick up some more. This is a lot like FFF Behemoth, only way better. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 02-04-2012 04:54:42

I was pretty damn impressed with this beer. I had read somewhere that Sam Adams contributed to this as well. Aggressively hopped with a solid malt backbone. If you are a hophead, drink it now, if not age it.

This beer was pretty good, like others have said doesn’t really taste like a barley wine, more like an IPA, but would I drink it again absolutely tasted great.

Sample at the 2012 Cincinnati Brew-haha. Hazy brown-red color, nice khaki head, some lace. Nice, light and crisp carbonation, drier texture. Easy to drink. Tasty tangy-sweetness, good assertive dry hops. Great barleywine, especially considering it’s probably really fresh...

Draft and bottle: I had to try this, but feel misled. I don’t know that I would call it a barleywine, it’s more ipa like to me. At the same time, it’s wonderful. Full bodied with a nice hop balance. Tasty offering.

One of the two or three best offerings from a Cinci brewery/breweries. Amber color with excellent floral/citrus hop aroma on the nose. Heavy body with rich malt and a nice balance. Nothing really outstanding...but a nice move toward making high-quality, ambitious beers.

draft - I don’t know if I’m rating the right beer since what I had was definitely the Cincy beer week beer for 2012. I’d liken it to an IPA or APA, not barley wine. It had a golden color with white head and [can’t read my notes] lacing. Hops are of the pilsner variety and pine-y. Bitter all around. Dry finish and light for an IPA, but I don’t know if it’s an IPA.