Goose Island King Henry

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

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle. Dark brown beer with a minimal head. Malty, dark fruits, vanilla, toffee aroma with some leather notes. Malty, dark fruits, vanilla, bourbon and oak flavour. Nice one :-)

Bottle. The pour is a dark caramel. The aroma is simply bliss. Amazing mix of sweetness and bourbon. The taste smooth as hell. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

22oz bottle courtesy of claspada. Thanks! Reviewed from notes. A: Placid dark mahogany color with a barely discernible head. Stains the glass with brown sludge. N: Can smell the caramel and vanilla from halfway across the room. Lots of honey, brown sugar, and a touch of licorice. Candied pecans. Very well rounded. T: Balanced and well put together. Lots of interplay between the sweetness of bourbon and the underlying bourbon. There’s a slight cocoa to this and similar oak flavors to Sucaba. It’s a natural for the style. M: Rich, filling, and the alcohol is actually well-hidden. O: This is a beer worth lingering over, but it’s very much a dessert. In fact, after so much apparent praise above, the reason this isn’t getting higher marks is that by the end of my half of the bottle, I’m fairly sick of drinking this. It’s really good upon the first impression and through the first 4 oz, but this is not one that goes the distance for me.

Bottle opened for my 25th birthday. Pours a dark reddish brown with a fleeting off-white head. Lovely aroma of bourbon, molasses, buttery toffee plus hints of vanilla and fruit. As it doesn’t completely jump out of the glass I’d call this subtle rather than overpowering so far. Gorgeous taste with big dark chocolate and toffee notes. The barrel is integrated seamlessly, and the overall effect gives it a taste profile that’s in some ways reminiscent of an imperial stout. Very smooth with minimal burn; age has mellowed this nicely. This certainly lived up to my expectations but surprised me with how subtle it could be. Know that feeling when the bottle empties and you desperately wish you had another?

Bottle @ ZeeBra Extreme Beer Festival 2013. Brown pour, no head. Aroma of vanilla, bourbon, leathery, ripe fruits and caramel. Flavor is sweet with loads of bourbon, fruity, bitter and vanilla. Great brew.

Bottle @ ZeeBra. Aroma has big malts, caramel, bread and fruity notes. Flavour is huge bourbon, some liquorice and roast, some fruity notes, long lasting bourbon, some alcohol but not in a disturbing way.

Refined glowing copper colour. Barley wine like, raisins, aged. Rich powerful taste. Concentrated. Oily body, big alcohol but worth it. Enormous amounts of taste complexity. Awesome. (ZeeBra)

From bottle sharing at Dark Lord Day. pours ruby with a s tan head Nose of ripe fruit and bourbon. Medium plus in body. Flavor is sweet with lots of fruit and wood. Great tasting and seem well aged. Liked this a lot. .

Medium brown, thin off-white head. Dark bread crusts, toffee, maple syrup, raisins, a little cocoa, a leathery aged character, bourbon barrel evident, , vanilla.

Pours dark brown, lighter at the edges. Little to no head. Quite murky. Aroma is a great blend of huge molasses, vanilla and oak. Sweet bourbon note. A bit hot still. Tons of caramel, treacle and other toasted sugars. Taste is similar. Tons of molasses and caramel. Pretty big booze note. Good vanilla and other barrel notes. Some of the bourbon delicacy is gone but it’s still a nice sweet flavor. Thick feel. A bit syrupy but it works well with the flavor. I think it’s not quite as good as it was fresh but still a delicious beer and it’s a shame that more barley wine/old ale style beers aren’t made in this style. Great stuff.