 JF_GRIND (1205), Glenside, Pennsylvania, USA
Sep 10, 2005
The General Lafayette is offering vintage bottles on a selection of their beers. I purchased a 12 ounce bottle of 2003 vintage McGlynn’s Ghost (The Pahantom) for $12 USD. It was worth every penny! Heavy fruity aroma, dark red color, flat head, but overall a complex barleywine with a perfect marriage of malt sweetness and hop bitterness.
JB175 (1319), Holland, Pennsylvania, USA
Apr 24, 2008 2005 Vintage Bottle poured into a small snifter - Reddish color with almost no head. Aroma is thick with cereal, sugar, and faint citrusy hops. Flavor has a nice sugary, malty-cerealish taste with a faint hop flavor and dark, vinous fruits throughout. Mouthfeel is really nice with a slight alcohol burn that creeps pleasantly up the palate. Pretty good, though the “vintage” price hurts the pocketbook a tad bit.
CaptainCougar (4624), Rockville, Maryland, USA
Mar 20, 2007 Updated: Dec 17, 2007’05 vintage bottle sampled at the brewpub on 12/3/07: Transparent deep copper amber pour has a thin coating of effervescent white head. Sweet earthy dark caramel malty nose has some aged oxidized complexity and light fruity esters. Starts with a rich, sticky caramel malty sweetness and some fruity brown sugar and raisin complexity toward a slightly warming finish. A nicely aged barleywine.
04/05 blend sampled on 9/20/06: Pours a slightly hazy copper amber with a thin, wispy off-white head. Semi-sweet, toasty caramel aroma has a nice, light fruity character. Body starts with a semi-sticky sweet caramel and fresh grapefruity hoppiness. Nicely-balanced and well aged. A good barleywine.
Ungstrup (11031), Frederiksberg, Denmark
Feb 8, 2007 Bottled, vintage 2003, sampled July 2006. A deep red beer with a thin beige head. The aroma is very complex with notes of peaches, bitter oranges, other over ripe fruits, and Gouda cheese. The flavor is rather sweet (inspite of the 3 year cellaring) and very complex with notes of wood, bitter oranges, and madeira as well as light notes of Gouda cheese. The alcohol burns the mouth slightly, while the mouthfeel is sirupy.
Vintage 2004, sampled July 2006. A hazy orange beer with a thin orange head. The aroma is sweet alcoholic with notes of over ripe fruits as well as stored fruits and fresh mango. The flavor is very sweet, but still very balanced with a complex fruit note containing mango, over ripe peaches and more, leading to a dry slightly woody end, which also has hints of prunes. [7/3/8/4/16=3.8]
MI2CA (1033), Noblesville, Indiana, USA
Sep 28, 2006 Tasting at goldtwins 9/20/06 - 04/05 blend - Aroma is pineapple hops and carmel malt. Pours cloudy brown with a medium head and good lacing. Flavor matches aroma and hides alcohol well. Palate is tart and crisp. Interesting brew.
goldtwins (3721), Nesconset, New York, USA
Sep 25, 2006 04/05 Blend. This just keeps showing me that I prefer a nice rounded and aged English BW over an American style. Favorite style for sure. Poured a hazy dark amber color with a small off-white head. Thick sweet malt in the aroma and flavor with caramel and fruity notes. Nice and rounded with good balance between the sweet malt and the high alc. I am sure the blending is the cause of this. Alcohol taste stays hidden. The effects of it do not. ;)
|
