DuClaw Misery

Brewed by DuClaw Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Abingdon, Maryland USA

Serve in Snifter

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UPDATED: JAN 19, 2011 Draft at the 2005 Maryland Brewers Spring Fest... This beer rocks!... Orange ale with a mid-sized, creamy, off-white head. The aroma and flavor are happily married to one another. A giant haze of milk and honey with a swirl of tropical fruit, malt, toffee, butterscotch and caramel. Sweet, but not cloyingly so because the hops and alcohol are subtly and perfectly blended. The alcohol is well-hidden among the wonderful, rich flavors and full body. Deeply creamy. Liquid decadence. Dangerously delicious and smooth. World class effort! You go, Jim.

I often ask wine sommeliers to give me a wine that a beer lover would like. They always fail. So disappointing... Anyhow, I do love some dessert wines such as Ports and Sherries, and recently, Banjuls. DuClaw Misery is a beer for dessert wine lovers. Yes, it is sweet, but very pleasantly so. A perfect after-dinner drink.

Bottle: nice golden color. Beautiful sweet aroma. Taste raisins, maltiness and maybe a hint of tropical fruit. The abv is not overpowering. Nice overall beer.

2004 vintage - Xmas in July at DuClaw, Bowie. Juicy amber in the glas, with firm retention and champagne-like bubble formation. A thing to behold. Pleasant candy sugar nose; sweet hop presence. Tastes(!) like some variety of hard candy, exploding; peach/apricot, some maple syrup, residual candy sugar, with a nice balance of sweet hops and floral notes taking over at the end - overpowering sweetness, except it’s really damn good. Very impressive brew, and nicely held together. I look forward to comparing this to a younger version.

Sparkling dark amber ale, thin vanilla colored head. Lots of fun things going on in the aroma with spicy hops, apricot, orange (like Grand Marnier, or maybe cognac), with some additional notes of pineapple for good measure. Initial tastes hits you with a sweet malty blast, but instantly gets backed up with a very spicy hop presence to counterbalance. Full bodied, medium carbonation, sahara dry finish. This creation is quite unique and unlike any wheat wine I’ve ever had. Nice job Jim. Keep up the great work....

Misery Wheatwine. Special limited edition. 10% ABV. Served in a snifter. No growlers of this beauty. I tried my best to have a growler to go, but no dice. Poured out a deep amber / copper color, with a minimal white head. Lactic wheat aromas, earthy hops, and aromatic alcohols make up the bulk of the aromas. Warming, semi-dry finish to it. Thick, rich mouthfeel. Coats the tongue well. Goes down too easily. A very well made wheatwine. Alcohols cover up most of the wheat tastes, but not completely. It still carries thru in the end. Keeps the home fires burning for the upcoming winter misery.

Aroma of fine malts some slightly spicy hops,first wiff gave some strange unexpected medicinal vibes(reminds me a bit too much of the Serum 2004)Nice amber/gold,served in a snifter and carried a genrous yet quickly dissapating slightly tan head.Very nice tasting concotion(caramel malts,a nice amount of hops)Very lively,med-full bodied mouth that I really liked.Overall this beer was way too similar to the Serum released on 9-1-04 to be unavailable to the growler and be so limited(8 oz. pours).I really liked this one.I just wanted more, but my pocket said no.

Clear gold in color with just a bit of white head. Aroma is apricot and guava, with sharp alcohol poking through a bit. Taste is the same with crazy Mike and Ike (NZ hop?) fruity/citrusy notes. Unobtrusively carbonated, with biscuit and a mildly astringent tree-barky bitterness into the finish. Fantastic, like pretty much everything from DuClaw. $9/22oz

(bottle) A hazy red-copper with a small white head. Aroma is sweet with fruit; dusty grains; some alcohol. Full bodied, creamy and chewy (can it be both of those?), no carbonation. Flavor of dark and ripe fruit; peaches, caramel, some wheat. Strong alcohol, but not overpowering at all. It is very sweet, but the sweetness, alcohol, and (moderate) hops blend and balance very well; more of a sipping drink. Very good!

Peach and marshmallow creme aroma. Clear orange, medium head, little retention. Fruity peach and lemongrass. Medium bodied, tangy, very palatable. Wheat bread finish. Alcohol well concealed. Superb balance and texture. Lacks wheat character. Drinks more like a lightly hoppped DIPA, but quite delicious. This is my first Duclaw, but I’m liking what I’m seeing so far.