Fat Heads Hop Lightning

Brewed by Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon
Style: Barley Wine
North Olmsted, Ohio USA

Serve in Snifter

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Amber, no head. Aroma is very syrupy, strong apricot, peach, citrus notes- lots of residual sugar... Not sure if it is appealing or over the top... Taste is pretty hoppy, light apricot peel, some alcohol warming, interesting.

San Diego Strong Ale Fest 2010. Hazy dark amber color/ off white head. Nice fresh pine, floral, tea leaf hop aromas. medium bodied. Big tea leaf, pine sap hoppy flavors with a spicy toasted caramel sweet base, big bitter finish.

Draft at the San Diego Strong Ale Fest 2010. Reddish amber pour, off-white head. Caramel malt, citrus, bitter hops, toffee, and bread. Ok

growler shared by the c-bus crew at dlday 2010... pours a hazy copper brown pour with a thin off-white head... aroma had a bit of citrus as well as some caramel/toffee maltiness.... flavors were mostly sweet, even a little bitter, alongside some butter notes. smooth bodied and a little boozy.

Growler courtesy of miketd. Pours a hazy copper with a lasting, rocky white head. Smells of citrus, spice, caramel, resiny, breaddy. Tastes of caramel, resiny, some molasses, some bitterness on the finish. Decent.

Growler, courtesy Cheeseman. This pours a deep reddish orange color topped by a small head of tan colored foam. The head leaves some skinny lines of lace around the glass. The aroma is very hoppy showing notes of pine resin, grass, and bitter grapefruit. Orange peel and peppery spices lend further depth. Toffee and toasted caramel malt lend the base, but can’t hold up to all the hops. The flavor follows suit and is extremely hoppy and bitter from the pine resin, grapefruit, citrus, and peppery hops. The toffee malt adds a touch of sweetness, but can’t balance out all the hops. Medium to full bodied and sticky on the palate that finishes with some lingering bitterness and alcohol heat. This is a nice hopped up barley wine. If you are a hop head this is for you.

Growler shared at DLD by sliffy, I think. Pours a copper hue, reddish fiery edges make way for a decent haze, a small offwhite head that laces pretty well considering. Aromas are caramel and toffee malts, grassy earthy hops moving into more citrusy lemon and grapefruit, some sweeter fruits, pine. Initial is similar, pretty heavy bodied with thicker caramel and toffee, earthy and citrus hops with flashes of pine coming in strong as well. Pretty good, a little heavy for me but the hops are very nice.

Copper pour with tan head, earthy hops, good caramel malt, sweet and bitter on the finish.

Growler from miketd. Murky amber with a medium biege head. Nose of citrus and light pine mixed with light malty maple-toffee notes. Flavor is bitter with lots of malty caramel and toffee. In between a barleywine and a DIPA IMHO!

Enjoyed via draft at the brewery in a sampling glass. The beer pours a slightly-darker-than-medium amber color, with a fairly small white head. Strong hop character to the nose, almost resembling a malty double IPA. West coast hops come through, lending a citrusy/piney character. A pleasing melange of malt aromas also come through, although it is difficult to point out any one particular flavor. The palate is bitter up front, although this is mitigated by a malt sweetness that carries throughout the beer. The beer lives up to its name as an aggressively bitter barley wine, but the aforementioned malt sweetness keeps it from straying far out of the large flavor bounds of the style. The finish leaves a residual sweetness/bitterness combination that feels almost thick on the tongue. It would be interesting to try this in a few years. Overall, well done.