Elliott Bay Fuerte Von Boorian

On tap at CBG Exbeerience 2008. Pours clear copper with a short but lacy white head. Sweet full body, light carbonation. Sweet fruit and lemon nose, with a toffee and citrus taste. Dry, woody, earthy and spicy finish.

6/7/08 On draught at the ExBeerience beer festival. Aroma is of candy malt with fresh fruit and a low noble hop balance. Appearance is clear gold with a moderate white head. Flavor is alcoholic sweet malt forward with light earthy esters. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with heavy creaminess. Overall, I just never felt like I was drinking a barleywine, and even with the belgian yeast, not so much of the appearance or mouthfeel should be this different.

Draft at Brouwer’s. Blend of the 06 and 07. Pours cloudy dark amber with golden caramel highlights. Dense, moussy tan head that lasts and lasts and lasts and leaves solid sedimentary sheet rings down the sides of the glass. Comes on like a wheat beast on the nose--just dump truck loads of that light wheat sour and husky nuttiness. Body’s on the high side of medium and a weird mix of crisp and creamy, if that makes any sense--there’s a boatload of bitter resin hop in here, and it shows up more on the attack than on the nose. The resin carries a bit through the mid-palate, really balancing things out, and leaving a strong and forceful but still harmonious finish. That belgian yeast thing is kinda buried, but I am sure it’s doing things deeper than my tongue’s getting. A hoppy-ass wheat wine...this hits me in a very good place.

Tap @ Brouwers: Amber color with a creamy tall head. Nose has a snappy yeast ester note with a chewy fermented raisin and kefir note along with the caramel and fruity hop notes. The flavor is chewy, nice body. Bright alcohol with some cheesy hints in the tail. Decent, much more of a barleywine than a belgian style.