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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This is the barleywine that all other barleywines will be compared to throughout my beer life. Amazing nose, oak, barrel char, fruits, bourbon, malt and sweet sweet nilla’. Good lawrd this taste amazing, way better than King Henry in my opinion. The taste follows the nose. Perfect viscosity and coating. Carbonation is spot on as well. Damn this is a fine 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.

Deep garnet, little head. The nose is mostly booze, bit of toffee and dark fruit. Really sweet flavor, dark fruit, really amazing. One of the best barleywines I have ever had.

Aroma of sweet toffee, caramel, and vanilla. Pours brown and sticky. Tastes brown and sticky :) Great cherry-chocolate cordial, hard toffee, and sweet brown sugar. Not too many wood or chocolate notes, almost all sugars. Still this is a great barleywine and worth having a bottle.

Carmel color body with no head. Smells sweet with a little burbon. Tastes is like caramel and bourbon. Grows on me alot. Great beer. Would love to see what happens with time

Bottle, from Allen, thanks brah, shared with some bro’s after the Cantillon event. Poured a murky brown with mocha head and a dct bit of lacing. Aromas of cinnamon, coconut, bourbon, figs, oak, cherry and some more dark fruits. Slight smell of some cocoa once warmed. Taste is unbelievable, so rich and balanced for a barley. Notes of vanilla, cherry, dark choc, plum, spice, some whiskey heat in the finish. This beer was killer. Need to snag some more stuff from Dry Dock asap.

Aroma is sweet molasses, toffee, and alcohol. Flavor really sinks in with the molasses, a hint of rye, and very, very smooth, round finish. Super bold yet incredibly consistent....just warms you up inside!

Sampled at Rackhouse Pub, Denver CO, on October 10, 2012, during the event Colorado Rare Beer Tasting
Clear dark copper color, very small head. Sweet, raisin, cinnamon scent. Raisin, sweet, alcohol taste. Vanilla aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel, low bitterness. Warming alcohol.

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.

Bottled@chriso (thanks forgetfu). Amber colour, mediumsized small beige head. Aroma is sweet malts, some hops, alcohol and riped fruits. Flavour is ripe fruits, toffee, vanilla, hops, alcohol and some nice fudge sweetness. Lovely balance.