Full Sail Old Boardhead Barleywine

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

old rating: 7/3/7/3/14-3.4
pour is clear dark copper with a small egg-shell head, some lacing.
smell of alcohol, dark fruit, toffee, pepper, roasted walnuts, touch of malt.
taste is a bit on the thin side, dark fruit, chocolate, caramel, dandelion, ends bitter and dry.

22 oz. bottle. Reserve 2006. Pours a cloudy rust color with a moderate, bubbly off-white head that faded to a ring after several sips. My first whiff of this beer tells me this one is going to be very hoppy. Lots of juicy citrus in the aroma. The flavor is really all about the hops in this beer. While there is a light malt backbone, the citrus hops dominate. The hops are a bit brash, especially for a barley wine. Warming alcohol presence near the finish, especially as the beer warms. As a DIPA, this would be very good, but I prefer my barley wines to be less hoppy with more balance towards the malt with a more silky and smooth mouthfeel.

’06 bottle with a big thanks to BuckeyeBoy. Exactly the way I like my barleywines. Big malt foundation. Biscuity and dry, but with ample sweetness, then that sweetness swings into a fruity sweetness in the back of the mouth as the hops come out to play Very floral and earthy, but with touches of intense strawberry striking occasionally, like those strawberry flavored candies with the gooey centers. It’s a year old, but it’s just dripping with fresh hop flavor and candy-like malt. I can always tolerate way more bitterness, but this has plenty to provide the balance it needs. Carbonation is not huge, but enough to keep it lively on the tongue. You’ll feel the alsohol long before you taste it. I could go for a chewier mouthfeel, but it this is ample as well. Pretty much everything I could ask for from this beer is delivered. It could probably pop a little more if fresher, but with a year on it the flavors cooperate so well and enhance one another too much that it’s hard to say this isn’t the perfect time to drink it.

22 oz. bottle from the cellar. Bottled on date was 12-02-99. Has a red-orange hue with a two finger head. Still has a slight piney hop bud resin smell with bready, spicy alcohols to boot. Full bodied with a super smooth creamy mouthfeel. Fruity taste of plums, blackberries, apricots, and cinnamon. Finishes with a sticky sweet alcohol and tart hop taste. We did a vertical tasting with a bottle from 2002 . The ’ 02 was good but this was the overwhelming favorite. Jan 2004

2006 bomber. Pours a deep red/brown with a small white head. The aroma is mostly spices and hops, with some malts in there. The best part of this drink is the taste; I really agree with those who called it sweet and spicy. Strong hops and a great sweet fruity malt flavors. Really well balanced. The fruity and sugary sweet flavor is really natural and is well matched with the bitter hops. A great BW. I’m sure this one has benefited from age.

22 oz. bomber bottle, Reserve 06, sampled in a snifter. A: Tawny amber with a frothy head of creamy foam that leaves a fair amount of splotchy lace along the sides of the glass. S: Pineapple, citrus zest, herbaceous stems and green pine needles, this has a good hop profile. Caramelized sugar and a subtle earthy nuttiness with spicy rum-like alcohol. M&T: Velvety smooth full bodied creaminess makes this an easy sipper, a pleasing feel in the mouth with a little oily slickness. There is a nice balance in the taste, enough sweet malt flavor to counter the natural hop sourness. Grapefruit juice and rind, woody herbs and sticky pine sap, the hops have a mild, but lingering bitterness. Soft pineapple and pear fruitiness along with some earth spice. Pale malt sugary, buttery toffee and caramel, the malts add a beneficial sweetness to the hop tastes. The alcohol has a laid back warmth in the palate, spicy solvent and fruity. This is a good northwest barleywine, quite enjoyable on a drizzly cold night.

2004 Vintage - Snifter Aroma was warm and malty. Palate thick and malty. Nice Hop balance. One of the best malt:Hops ratios I have experienced.

This is an OUTSTANDING barleywine. I had the 2006 vintage. Brown/amber in color, very well balanced, and a great, smooth finish for this beer! Delicious.