2.9 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
UPDATED: JUL 26, 2005 This is an awfully sweet, fruity barley wine. It’s got a very fruity aroma - - peaches, cherries, apricots... Which made the drinking of it remind me too much of an unfortunate night of apricot brandy drinking some decades back when I was a sophomore in high school... Be that as it may - It’s a thick drink, syrupy, and cloying in its sweetness. I kept waiting for the advertised hops to appear. I enjoy barley wine, but this was, all in all, a disappointment. <font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Island Beer Company - Clybourn, Chicago, IL<font size=-1>
4.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
On draught at clybourn. Ruby with a light brown head. Sweet fruits dominated the aroma. Noticable malt in the aroma as well as a hint of cherry. A nice thick chewy mouthfeel. Very complex, so much that I could not pick everything out. Grapes, fig, cherry, caramel, toffee, and some woody notes add flavor to a ridiculously malty brew. Left a alcoholic warming sensation in the finish as well as a nice kick of hops. Outstanding beer.
4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bourbon barrel aged cask at RAF weekend. Murky, bubbly, brown color with no head but some lacing. Sweet aroma of hops and coconuts. Very fruity (melon), taste included hints of oak, some medicine, bitter hops, and some faint bourbon and alcohol.
2.8 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Tap, Wrigleyville. Served way too cold. Even after a period of warming, little aroma, a hint of liquorice. Fair malt body. Coarse husky bitterness. Very very sweet in the finish. I'm not impressed.
4.3 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
On tap at Clybourn: Served a little too cold, but warmed nicely. The aroma is sweet and malty, with hints of fruit. The mouthfeel is dense with sweet malt and a bitter finish. Slight alcohol burn, but overall enjoyable. One of Goose Island's best.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Very strong and sweet aroma. Alcohol present with a sharp bitterness in the end. Citrus, pine, and the puckering characteristics associated with barley wines all here. As barley wines aren't my bag, I'd be interested in this brew after a few years in the cellar.
4.6 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 19/20
UPDATED: NOV 8, 2003 Draft: Served in snifter, but far too cold. Glowing clear maple. Sticky ashen foam. Captivating aroma, akin to Sherlock's Home's Winter Ale: Heavily malted, hint of maple, fig, pecan, fresh apple, toffee, cedar, dates, freshly torn green leaf, caramel, almonds, raisins, and a whiff of alcohol. Firm, toffeeish palate with ample carbonation. Wonderful display of lush malt complexity, leafy hops, very earthy soil, abundant, long cedar notes, plentiful figs, salt, leather, which is all capped by a substantial bitterness. The conclusion is greeted warmly and rasiny, with a lingering, classy bitterness. This is extremely sophisticated and bursting with personality. A divine experience to say the least. God bless the brewers for prodcuing something completely stylish and unique.
3.7 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Dark red brown - sweet caramel blends with some wheat and is carried to the nose by light alcohol . . . Smiliar to many other BW aromas. Lingering head around the rim. . . Bitter sweet caramel flavours along with some grapefruit, pine and hop cones. Lingering bitter hops. Nice.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
A pretty nice dark red, caramel brown color with a persistent, off-white head. Starts with sweet malts. Soft fruits, caramel, toffee, and a touch of tabacco. Strong hop bitterness in the finish. The front and back are good in their own right, but the transition is a bit strange. Not a bad barley wine.
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