Full Sail Old Boardhead Barleywine

Brewed by Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Hood River, Oregon USA

22 oz. bomber, 2008 vintage. Pours reddish amber with a slight cream colored head that doesn’t last, some lacing. Scent is caramel, butterscotch, sweet grass, banana, and strawberry. Very fruity flavor, with cherry, orange, strawberry, and lemon up front. Some astringency from the high alpha hops, along with flavors of tobacco and earth to balance the sweetness. Medium sweetness and strong bitterness, slightly sour finish. Alcohol is not very strong in the flavor. A smooth sipping barley wine.

bottle thanks to bhensonb. poured hazy amber with an off white head. aroma was caramel, dark fruits, and toffee. flavor was caramel, dark fruits, and a strange bitter.

Bottle courtesy of ericandersnavy. Hazy red maroon color with small bits of sediment. Bubbly white head. Smell is sweet fruit with powdery notes. Slight bit of twig. Lots of baby powder sweetness. Taste is dry sweet with a lingering bitterness. Like picking a dandelion, and chewing the milky end of it. Little bit of fruit and earth.

22oz bomber, 2008 reserve, from south bay. pours a hazy, reddish copper with a thin, beige head and a bright ring of lace. aroma is great with slightly sweet toffee, burnt brown sugar, dark malts, figs, and mild fruit notes of cherry and orange citrus and mild earthy, hop notes. flavor is very nice with bigger citrus notes of lemon and orange juice matched by hints of berry and balanced by sweet caramel, toffee, rye malts, and a bit of honey coming through ahead of the bittersweet finish. palate is a bit on the lighter side for a big barley wine with medium carbonation and a slight trace of the 9%abv. overall, a very solid barley wine.

09 bomber pours a murky reddish brown with no retaining off white head into a snifter; very nice lacing. Crisp hoppy aroma balanced by caramel malts, toffee, overripe fruits (plumb, apple), vanilla, slightly detectable booze. Caramel malts pervade in the flavor combined with lemony/grapefruit hops. Overripe apples and plumbs kick in. Boozy in the finish, dry, brown sugar, pear and a slight spice. Toffee, plumb, and booze dominate as it warms. Full bodied with a velvety mouthfeel and low level of carbonation. Really nice brew.

Pours deep copper with a creamy beige head. Smells of candied citrus and toasted marshmallows, with some butterscotch drizzled over them. Just a delicious aroma. Flavor is very good - along the lines of the aroma, with some aromatic hops giving it a dry finish. It’s a bit dilute on the flavor/palate - for something with this pungent of an aroma, I was expecting a stronger flavor. It’s silky smooth, though, and does a decent job hiding its 9%. Very, very good - especially for the price - and I keep coming back to the aroma - wonderful.

The pour is a murky, deep brown with one finger of off white head. Flavor is Sherry, dark fruits (fig and raisin), sweet malt, alcohol, and hops. Nose is hops, dark fruit, sherry, and sweet malt. The palate is medium bodied and a little oily. A great barleywine!

Hazy amber with a tiny white head. Sweet aroma with toasted malt, caramel and and ripe fruits. Sweet flavour with toasted malt, caramel, pine and hoppy notes. Quite vinious.