Goose Island Batch 2000 Barleywine

Formerly brewed at Goose Island Beer Company (AB-InBev)
Style: Barley Wine
Chicago, Illinois USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Intense is one word that fits this one quite well. Light copper in color with a lid of off-white bubbles. Pure hops and alcohol aroma. Perhaps to strong, but it works for me. Hot and spicy come to mind. Fruit and juicy in the flavors. My type of barley wine.

UPDATED: SEP 11, 2012 Bottle... Murky orange ale with a small, fizzy, off-white head. Floral, fruity essences of perfume, peach and praline. Malty, fruity flavor with a boatload of hops. The alcohol is noticeable, but not overly so. Full-bodied and chewy with lively carbonation. Finishes sweet, then astringent and dry. Thanks to kmweaver for sharing his bottle!

12oz bottle, many thanks to Jokes for the trade. Reddish-amber appearance; short, off-white head with attractive lacing. Plenty of juicy hops, fruit, candy sugar in a full nose. Still maintains a strong hop presence, citrus and floral, almost piney; strong malt backbone keeping things balanced. Viscous, sweet mouthfeel, with a long, layered finish. Excellent with some age behind it; hop presence is well balanced.

(12oz bottle, thanks kmweaver) Small off-white head atop a hazy amber body. Aroma is moderately sweet, grapefruit, herbal, floral, caramel, peach/orange, light raisin. Taste is sweet, grapefruit/herbal, caramel, some plum, orange. Full body, holds the alcohol very well.

Pre-GTMW tasting @ 1FastSTi’s place. Hazy amber with small off-white head. The aroma is caramel, orange, pine and toffee. The flavor is sweet, sticky caramel and resinous pine. Full body and sticky with a bitter end.

Aroma is hoppy with mint, pine and a fruity, orange-caramel maltiness and some vanilla. Clear, bright orange with a thin, off-white head. Sweet caramel, brown sugar and toffee flavor that is well balanced with a pine and alcohol finish. The alcohol isn’t boozy, it actually adds a nice bite that helps keep the sweet flavors from being too cloying. Full bodied. Very nice, thanks to MrFacto for sharing.

Thanks to MrFacto for sharing, and StewardofGondor for giving me a pour from his glass. No thanks to anyone who didn’t give me a sip from the 1" left in the bottle on the last pour. Clear, shiney copper. No head. Hoppy aroma. Is like a Imperial IPA. Some sweet grass in there too. Resiney. Flavor actually follows… approaching harsh bitterness, but backed up with some delicious fruit. Nice coating hop elixir. Very good. Its kind of like a non-subtle GI IIPA.

Opulent, semi-translucent and cherry brass in color, glowing in the glass with a saliva splotch on top and a tight tan shaded lace wrung. Deep figs and cherries basted in brandy begin the nose, surrounded by golden raisins with some nutmeg and buttered rum cusps. Dates with a caramel plum marinade aromatically hint at an underlying and undulating toffee vibrancy. Hot flavor reservoir hits caramel dripping onto honey grahams to a point of toffee stasis, and breaking of said candy shell. Supple carbonation mates with marinating dates plucked from a pool of Disaronno-laden caramel cubes. Hot but not, through forever loverly on the palate. Full-bodied and an untouchable palate presence. Buttery incantations rise with a supple, sweet amaretto stream of drippings, longingly oozing throughout the foray. Hot, ripe candied dates and brandied figs complete the finish. Huge thanks to MrFacto for sharing!

Thanks Matt. The beer pours to a glowing copper body with a white head. The aroma is a huge clean smelling barleywine with nice vibrant hops and subyle barrel aging. The flavor is sweet barley, nice light aging, hops, nice Maris Otter and bitter hops. The palate is perfect.

Pre-Great Taste sampling at 1FastSti’s house


The foil to the Batch 4000, this one was ’only’ 15 months old. Thanks to Joel for cracking this one open - it was not even on my radar until I saw it on the table. For such a small sample, it was truly an amazing experience.

Aroma / Appearance - Fresh from the hive honey, caramel, dried black cherries and some other fruity flavors which I could not pin down gave this beer an appealing nose. The body was a light hazelnut color with only a trace amount of lacing that stuck stubbornly to the side of the glass.

Flavor / Appearance - The initial impression was of hot alcohol but after a few seconds I picked up some enjoyable textures of cherry, apple butter and caramel chews. Overall there was a definite maltiness to it that provided a nice balance to offset the alcohol.