Green Flash Barleywine

Deep auburn hue. Sticky, rocky and frothy beige-tinged head deposits dots of lace on all sides of the glass. Flashy nose vibrant plums, pineapple parfait, grapefruit, caramelized strawberries and a touch of toffee/Crystal malt. Fairly yeasty. Minimal oxidation (sherry in this case). Natural carbonation hugs the palate. Chewy and oily body. Heavily bitter and fairly brash initially, though a juicy surge of fruity esters briefly displaces that. Hops soon resurface, generating spicy notes of grass and pine which couple with the oily acids to lend a gentle numbing effect by scrubbing the tongue. Overly acidic hop character steadily intensifies and essentially stifles the development of any brighter hop nuances. Finishes intensely resinous, reminiscent of pinesap and grapefruit rind, yet with enough dryness and alcohol to slightly lift the harsh oils and make way for the lingering malt-derived caramel and nut flavors. A bit more refinement would be welcome here (cleaner maltiness, brighter and more-restrained hop character, etc.), but it certainly is not as sloppy as so many barleywines tend to be. Bottle-conditioned and unfiltered, the way it ought to be; kudos to Green Flash for that!

Brown with a nice head. Smell is strong. Everything is pretty strong about this beer the alcohol and the maltiness. I like it though.

Trasparent and very dark red pour. Still. Heavy aroma. Gingerbread, rum, oranges, and burnt butter cookies. Dark and alcoholic sugar is first to taste; a molasses and honey fermentation. Intimations of port, predictable toffee crunch, and raisins. The sweetness has a consistently blackened crust. A whisper of strawberry and pleasant, restrained hop presence. Prune and greek olive with a tense, salty pungency. Oxidation slides in with a thick presence of wet carpet and cardboard, and this one is young. Bitter wood and hot brandy finish. Reasonably smooth with a coating smack of the same old stuff. Burnt grahams, bananas and caramel. It reaches for a level of erudition that it doesn’t attain or really even touch. Fair enough, though.

Bouteille de 22 oz dégustée en compagnie de Dmac621, Dickinsonbeer, Cathschlag, MartinT, Beerbuzzmontreal et Glouglouburp. Arôme: Odeur de caramel et d’houblons. Apparence: La couleur est brune opaque. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel et d’houblons avec une pointe de vanille. Longue durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Légère présence d’alcool chaleureux en arrière goût. (Rating #1254)

In short: A highly drinkable barley wine with fruity caramel and resinous hops. Classic. Very nice
How: Bottle 22oz. Consumed about 6 months after purchase.
The look: Clear (first glass from the bottle) to very cloudy (last glass) amber-brown body with a medium beige head.
In long: Typical but always pleasant nose of fruity caramel. Taste is rich juicy caramel, some citrusy notes, some other refreshing fruity notes (tropical fruits-ish), toasted bread, wood. Good amount of resinous and citrusy hops. Very well balanced. The typical American Barley wine often goes in the too-sweet sugary territory but this is one that is highly drinkable. In the same vein as other classics like Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine and such. Excellent classic example of the style. You don’t always need to re-invent the wheel. Especially when you own an Audi A4.

22oz bottle, labeled as 2nd Anniversary Ale, #3580/6000, courtesy of wetherel. Thanks, John! Pours dark, murky brown with thin yellow edges; light tan head with solid retention and fine-bubbled lacing. Nothing special in the aroma, especially for an aged barleywine: just enough dried fruits, caramel, and sticky cherry syrup to fill the nose. The mouthfeel is much more generous: soft, lightly carbonated palate with a ton of caramel, brown sugar, and dried dark fruits (prunes, raisins); nice dense malty complexity, with a soft caramel and toffee presence coating at mid-palate; loads of dried fruit. There’s more than a little oxidation at this point. Lengthy, dried dark fruits and brown sugar in the finish.

god damn it this stuff is good. pours a dim but transparent amber color with a foam deep tan color head. strong aroma of hops and malts a little sweet scent swell perhaps caramel. a sweet and bitter taste of caramel hops toffee and malts.. very well balance with a warm alcohol feel as it goes down. texture had a thick and oily feel.

Poured a deep amber color with tan head. Aroma was malts, caramel and hops. Flavor was big and complex. Lots of malt, caramel, toffee and lots of hops. A terrific blend of flavors that just seemed to get better as I drank it. Of course at 10% ABV, I was getting happier as I drank it. Very good West Coast barley wine.