Goose Island Batch 2000 Barleywine

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

Serve in Snifter

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355mL courtesy of CaptainCougar. Quite possibly the coolest bottle label of all time. The pour is a hazy, dark, tawny amber with a thinning, whitish head. Aroma of cedar, slight oxidation, rich dried fruits (apricots, plums, nectarines). Taste is red fruits, sharp/spicy alcohol, sweet maple, spicy cinnamon, helado dulce de leche. Peppery hops and biting hops come into balance. Dryish, chalky palate. But what a knock-out.

12oz bottle pours a hazy, copper brown with a clumpy, white head. Nose is sweet, boozy, brown sugar, apples, cinnamon. Flavor is sweet, cakey, brown sugar, sherry, port, lightly oxidized. Full bodied, sweet finish.

Bottled. A hazy amber beer with an orange head. The aroma is sweet alcoholic with strong notes of peaches and over ripe fruits. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of caramel and peaches as well as light alcoholic notes that tickles the tongue. It has a thick body.

Bottle. Usual barleywine appearance-reddish brown with a minimal ring of bubbles. Nose-alcohol, bready, spicy. Taste-black pepper, medium to high sweetness, cereal malts, and low alcohol, an odd staleness, fig, wood, honey, spicy for a barleywine. Thick but not cloying mouthfeel.

bottle. poured a hazed orange and red with a bubbly head that settled into a sticky scum. the aroma is yeasty, fried apricot pie, a touch of booze, but very light and complimentary. a little grease fire like is the only thing negative that popped into my head when i sniffed this. very fruity flavor, apple, cherry, apricot, some caramel and a bit of chocolate especially in the finish. a grass note is here too. dries up a bit in the finish and the alcohol comes forward with a bit more doughy tang. a bit dusty (oxidized?), but not too much. i like it.

This was a treat to have. After the tour we added a few of these to the mix and it was worth it.

Dense, cloudy darkened amber pour. Thick lacing is left behind by a slowly diminishing head. The aroma is very sweet, with two parts of toasty malt for every part of abundant hops. Very overripened fruits dance in the nose, surrounded by caramels and sourdough. Light hints of raisin pudding and anise round out the aroma. The flavor is very rich and very well blended, one complex flavor with many integral components. Peppery spice abounds. More dark fruit is noted as the malt profile recedes to let that, and brisk hoppy bitterness shine through. Alcohol warms aggressively in a lingering finsih that is both balanced and coating. The mouthfeel is full bodied, lightly carbonated, syrupy and biting with resin, spice and graininess. Very tasty.

From 35.5 cL bottle. Pours hazy orange. Sweet malty aroma with a fruity note. Flavour rather sweet malty with a good bitterness, raisin sweetness into a alcohol dominated finish. Very nice.

Bottle. Pours a reddish orange amber with a small film head that leaves around a little lacing. Aroma is powerful, quite alcohol-heavy. There are sweet malts, bread-like doughyness, nuts and a little caramel in the background. Mouthfeel is great and oily despite a relatively high carbonation. Flavour is dominated by the viniousness (which is perhaps just a bit too much). Caramel, oak and a little nuttyness comes through. Too much alcohol compared to the taste.

Bottle courtesy of CaptainCougar, thanks! Nice variegated amber color. Aroma of caramel syrup. Taste is smooth, strong, straightforward.