3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
2012. Pours ruby clear with great head of foam and good lacing. Aroma of hops, caramelized malt and some prune and dark fruits. Booze as well in finish. Soft carbonation. Finishes bittersweet. Well-balanced and well done overall. Texture thick but not too syrupy. Bottle from Cook Street.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle at a bottle share. Pours a reddish amber color with a slightish head. Nose has a slight bourbon tinge to it. Taste is a bit malty and quite smooth. Not bad.
4.6 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
2011 version.
Huge barleywine full of dark fruit, caramel and toffee. Drinking amazing right now with ~1 year on it.
4.3 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
650ml bottle, 2013 vintage. A little more rugged, a little less ready than Driftwood’s Old Barrel Dweller. Still incredible -- and I’ve heard it ages well (I haven’t the patience to find out). Love it now.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle share of 2010 release. Thanks to Tristan.
Thick cloudy amber. Pure malt aroma. Caramel, apricot, and spices. Taste is the same. Great balance.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
500ml bottle from 2008. Clear but dark mahogany with a dark creamy head that fades to a nice layer. Had to let it sit for a while to open up as at first it was a little odd. Quite hoppy with nice resin, dry, some alcohol, nice maltiness, some dried toffee; moderate to full body, moderate carbonation, bit sweet with a nice hopiness, becomes dry. Didn’t think much of this to begin with but its actually quite good with some time in the cellar and some time to open up.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
2011 bottle. Dark brown. Big caramel malt aroma. Big caramel flavor, toffee. Has a bit of a bite, pretty hot and young.
4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Hazy copper-caramel with fair, creamy, beige head / Rich, sweet nose of caramel, brown sugar, pine, and citrus / Full body, sweet and chewy, somewhat sticky, with good balance and hot, bitter finish, but still not enough to stand up to 14% abv (which strikes me as unnecessary / Somewhat winey, perfumey flavors of orange peel, caramel, burnt sugar, pine, and grapefruit / This is potentially terrific if the alcohol were toned down.
4.3 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 18/20
650 ml bottle. 2011 vintage. Pours a clear garnet red/brown with no head. Strong aromas of roasted malts, caramel, and alcohol. Sweet and bitter. Flavors of toffee, orange peel, malts and pine. Hot. Big alcohol kick. Can keep in the cellar for some time longer...
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Really it’s the typical Driftwood style beer with five times the power. Nice to see what Columbus tastes like, I’m definitely a fan of that hop. The alcohol really warms the mouth and throat. Took us a while to finish this one.
|
