Drakes Barley Wine Brandy Barrel

Formerly brewed at Drakes Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
San Leandro, California USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Bottle at home. This one has been sitting in the fridge since trading it (in person) with ratman in July ´09 - thanks buddy! Pours an opaque dark brown with no head. Smells of cask wood and licorice all-sorts. Sweet with a slight berrylike sourness Lots of aromas of dried fruits - mostly raisins and abricots. Also some aromas of licorice and old ale. Hints of earth and tobacco. Full bodied. No carbonation. Dry finish with more dried fruits.

huge thanks to Bleeng (Rick) .. been wanting to try this for ages!! .. . deep brown .. mild foam .. . intense sherry, burnt molasses, grape, and tar- very complex .. . aged slick mouth .. . very tasty, quite an entertaining beer! .. . . saucers? you mean the kind from up there?

Bottle courtesy of Marsiblursi. Pours hazy very dark reddish brown with a very small bubbly brownish golden head that quickly dissipates without leaving any trace worth mentioning. Smell is sweet and malty with sweet dark bread, prunes, raisins, alcohol, dry wood, leather, dates, brandy, caramel, toffee, figs, anise seed, port wine, vanilla fudge, roasted nuts and dark grapes. Taste is sweet, tiny bitter, slightly salty, tiny sour and bitter with sweet dark bread, wood, brandy, caramel, leather, hay, prunes, raisins, dates, alcohol, vanilla fudge, lemon zest, star anise, red wine, toffee, roasted almonds and hints of figs and burnt cookies. Mouthfeel is soft, round, boozy and full bodied. Finish is sweet and fruity with caramel, prunes, raisins, brandy, wood, leather, sweet dark bread, toffee and hints of vanilla and cookies. I feel this is probably past it’s prime but it’s still a very nice aged massive barley wine. Happy to have had the chance to try this.

(Bottle) Pours dark mahogany brown with almost no head. The aroma holds boatloads of figs, prunes, sweaty raisins, black olives, earth, fruity dark chocolate, tobacco, leather/suede, burned toffee, dark caramel, wood, brandy and port. Nice warming alcohol. Complex, deep and mature nose. The flavor is medium sweet, light to medium bitter and tiny acidic with lots of vinous, oxidized and round/dark malty notes. Dark fruits and wood. The mouthfeel is round and sticky with almost no carbonation. Light soy, earthy dark fruits, syrup, liquorice and brandy on the finish. Medium to full bodied.

6 oz bottle thanks to Jimmy. Pours dark brown/reddish with no head/carbonation. Nose is sugar, prunes, sweetness and alcohol. Taste is much milder than the nose, with a bit sugary taste, and brandy sweetness. Smooth baby.

Finally get to try this thanks to madmitch76 for sending this tiny little nip bottle back across the pond. Pours murky muddy sludgy brown mahogany with micro thin head. The aroma offers up soft aged notes of molasses, a touch of sherry, earthiness, muted sweet brandy, smooth dank wet wood notes and booze at the end of the draw. The taste has a thin feel to it and delivers pleasing notes of earthy aged molasses and brown sugar followed by soft muted wood notes. This gets nectar sweet at times too with a hint of tart barrel thinly ringing the experience. Dynamite stuff.

Bottle generously shared by Ibrew2or3 @ Dak’s Cantillon tasting. Tiny little bottle that produced a muddy Oak Creek Canyon pour (rusty penny with hints of Sedona red) with zero head. Very little, if any carbonation but the bottle definitely had some age on it. Aroma was rich and complex with lots of molasses, raisin, plum, fig, brown sugar, vanilla, wood, and brandy present. Flavor is similar but there are signs of oxidation. Quite sweet and definitely a sipper. Chewy mouthfeel that would have benefited from a bubble or two. Still a really tasty brew that I am glad to have sampled...thanks again Dave!

(sampled at Dak’s 5000 tasting). Pours a cloudy dark caramel color with no head. Aroma has caramel, wood, light bourbon. raisin and a bit of oxidation. Taste is sweet with some roast and wood. A bit of tartness, but not much. Full bodied and a slick texture. Nice beer. Thanks Dave!

Getrunken beim RB Treffen in Düsseldorf am 6.1.07 Fruchtig-hopfiger Geruch. Das Bier brennt etwas im Hals, wird am hohen Alkoholgehalt liegen. Allerdings ist es gleichzeitig auch zu süß, auch im Nachgeschmack unangenehm süßlich-klebrig-malzig. Naja.... Test vom 7.1.2007, Gebinde: Glasflasche Noten: 8,8,6,7,9,7 - 7,20

Thanks to SJ for this. I think I found a new brewer to rave about. Enthralling mahogany pour with redish highlights. A big aroma of dark fruits, chocolate and wood. A beautiful full thick body with tastes of sweet malt, chocolate, vanilla and oak. At 14.7% the alcohol was blended to perfection. I love tihs brewer. This is what it’s all about. Finding the perfect beer of the day.