Dry Dock Signature Series Bligh’s Barleywine Ale

Brewed by Dry Dock Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Aurora, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter

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Bomber. Pours murky brown, small beige head. Molasses/ dark caramel all over nose and taste, strany barrels complement and dont dominate flavor. Plums, figs, dark dried fruits in taste. Sweet and thick burning booze on palate. Phenomenal barleywine.

Bottle 200 and something thanks to billshmeinke. Pours with a deep brown hued body with red highlights, decently large tan head that lasts. Aromas of bourbon, soil, earth, marzipan, caramel, vanilla, dark fruits and wood. Flavors of marzipan, toffee, barrel, vanillin, bread, caramel, oak, creme brulee, dark fruits, ester, caramel and bourbon. Thick bodied with medium alcohol, somewhat sticky sweet, lighter carbonation. Last beer of my backlog!

Bottle shared by Sean, thanks! Pours a hazy deep amber with a yellowish white head that dissipates quickly to the edges. Aroma has notes of sweet grains with a bit of cardboard, caramel and a decent amount of caramel. Flavor starts with a good amount of sweetness from grains and cookies with backing caramel and toffee as well as barrel.

Thanks to sideshowe for sharing. Pours a murky, dark chocolate brown color with a one finger light beige head that quickly settles into a lasting ring. Spotty lacing left behind. Slightly earthy aroma with a lots of sweet booze, barrel and dark fruit notes. The barrel character is prominent with hints of toasted oak, vanilla and whiskey but it doesn’t overpower the other notes. Hints of chocolate and caramel as well as some fig, plum and other dark fruit. Chewy medium body with a bit more carbonation than expected. There’s and excellent balance of booze, barrel character and sweet and leathery malt. Hints of dry oak, sweet boozy whiskey, vanilla and toasted coconut followed by some caramel, toffee, hazelnut and dark fruits, notable fig, raisin and plum. Well balanced with a well masked ABV considering it’s strength. There is a lot of alcohol flavor/sweetness but not much heat. Really flavorful and dangerously drinkable. Recommended!

bottle... once again, hopefully the hype train stops in Chicago for another pretty average beer... dark caramel with a whispy tan head, nice coloring... the aroma is pretty good but too much oak dominates, some really nice sweet malt but has a wort or bready character to it, a bit of molasses as well... the taste is all over the place, and just weird, very syrupy, lots of oak and alcohol, ok for a 3-4 ounces but after that tough to drink... might be great in time, now its merely a slightly above average ba bw

22oz bottle. Pours a dark hazy brown with hints of amber when held up to the light. There is a small bubbly beige head that recedes to a thin collar and leaves little lacing. Aroma is outstanding with equal parts sweet barleywine and barrel character. There is molasses and caramel with toffee and some overripe dark fruits. The barrel character is evident but not dominant with some vanilla and bourbon barrel. Damn. The taste is a slightly more boozy version of the nose, which is to say it’s pretty close to perfection for this English barleywine lover. The first sip was heavier on the bourbon and vanilla than I was expecting. But the underlying beer still coming through with a sugary sweet malt backbone with booze-soaked apples. The finish has some alcohol burn but not distracting. The taste just becomes more and more drinkable as it warms. The mouthfeel is close to full bodied, dessert-like, and just sticks on the palate after each sip. This is a sublime beer. I’ve never had anything else from Dry Dock but I will be seeking some more from them. It’s completely balanced with the barrel enhancing the base beer without dominating it. Love it.

Sent to me from the most gracious person in Denver. Pop the cap and you can smell a big boozy malt bomb. Pours a chestnut with thin sheet of khaki head. Leaves a few spots. Smells like a good bourbon, vanilla and oak with raisins and caramel in the backround. Taste is malt forward, burnt brown sugar, molasses, oak, dark fruits, and some alcohol. Light carbonation works well. A very good BA Barleywine that stands up their with all of the others.

UPDATED: MAR 2, 2012 Bottle shared with Steve and co. Amber orangish appearance with an off white head. Pretty rich toffee, caramel, toffee, vanilla, whiskey aroma that’s very delicious. Rich caramel malty, toffee, Stranahan’s whiskey, vanilla, oaky, delicious, dessert-like flavor. Fairly low carbonation. Great beer!

So far I’ve been impressed with a lot of Dry Dock’s beers so I had to try the Barleywine (BA Barleywine is one of my fav styles)... It didn’t disappoint. Pours a hazy deep mahogany with a tan head, carbonation was spot on for a barleywine. The aroma was sweet like caramel with a hint of vanilla, coconut and toffee, and had really nice whiskey notes that weren’t overwhelming but complementary... one of the reason I love BA Barleys. Overall a perfect balance of aromas, without any dominating. The taste is just as amazing and well-balanced. The sweet maple and caramel flavors along with some dark fruit are on the forefront coupled with the complexity of the whiskey and gentleness of the oak. So good, so sweet. Mouthfeel is so right for this beer, not too heavy, not too light. While it’s loaded with flavor and a medium-thick mouthfeel, the beer doesn’t seem difficult to drink! Great beer... probably the top of my BA Barleywine list.... already purchased another couple bottles. Side note: This beer was aged in Stranahan’s Whiskey Barrels, so it’s not bourbon your tasting, it’s single-malt whiskey made in Colorado, not Kentucky.

22oz bottle, courtesy of and split with ablackshear. Thanks! Pours a reddish-brown color with little to no head. Aroma is bourbon, vanilla, oak. Medium on the palate with light carbonation. Flavor is sweet, malty, nutty, toffee, bourbon, with a sharp, bourbon finish. Excellent.