Green Flash Barleywine

Pours the color of leathered blood orange w/ a full semi creamy, spattered froth that recedes slowly. Aroma of huge piney hops and sweet caramel. Full nectar w/ mellow residual effers. This is a hopped up version of the style. When you’re sick of barley wine, drink this one. A generous use of hops hides the sweet caramel all the way to the end leaving bitter scar tissue. I find myself feeling for sloughed off inner mouth tissue. Nuances [is all they could be called after that assault] of cramel, slight cherry, and leather. This is the arena where IIPA meets Barley Wine. A nice change of pace. Finish is blistering w/ the hops really digging in. I highly recommend this brew.

Glass: snifter Purchased at: Joe Canal’s Lawrenceville, NJ Price: $4.79 Size: 22 fl oz ABV: 10% IBU: n/a Estimated Calories: 400C RateBeer Rating: 93 Aural: quiet opening, gentle carbonation, uneventful pour Aroma 10 out of 10 Intensity: strong Balance: sweet and sharp Impression: very nice Malt Aroma: raisin prunes Hops Aroma: rose spicy grapefruit Other Aroma: grapes, sour, cherry Notes: An amazing aroma. Incapacitating. Appearance 5 out of 5 Color: dark ruby Clarity: brilliant Head Retention: average Lace: poor Notes: A menacing appearance - deep beautiful ruby color with brilliant clarity under an off white yellow head. Flavor 10 out of 10 Intensity: strong Balance: bitter Impression: very nice Malt Flavor: barley, pumpernickel, brown sugar, walnut, toffee, dark roast Hops Flavor: flint, tropical flowers, red pepper flake, grapefruit Other: maple syrup, raisins Notes: wonderful, deep, rich, bold, dark, raisin, delicious, favorite Palate 5 out of 5 Mouthfeel Sensation: drying warming Body: full Carbonation: average Finish Length: long Intensity: strong Balance: bitter Notes: bitter, long finish, strong, alcohol General Impression: 20 out of 20 Craftmanship: excellent Freshness: fresh Personal Taste: loved Notes: well done, great price, praiseworthy, fantastic

I love the barleywine molassses aroma. An excellent beer, with some nice flavors and hops throughout. Don’t really get the toffee, but I like it a lot.

2008-02-20, 8-5-9-5-18=45
Beautiful hazy red dark amber color, with a creamy head. Nutty and sweet caramel dominates this beer; the aroma has also a resiny hop and traces of phenol and bitter almonds. It’s full bodied, sweet and extremely bitter, with rhubarb candies, evident resins and bitter almonds. Very long final, satisfying every desire for malt and hop.
Out of my memory, I associate it to Sierra Nevada Bigfoot. Overall is powerful and well balanced, the kind of beer that I need.

2006-04-30, as 2nd Anniversary Ale, 8-4-8-5-16=41
Hazy dark brown color; creamy head. Malty aroma, some aromatic hop, light fruits, light phenol, light pine needles. Strongest malt taste, sweet caramel, strong hoppiness with some resins and light grapefruit. Not really elegant, but very good.

Like a mellow version of that most arrogant of heavily-hopped flagship American micro beers, i.e., less grapefruity-astringent and more smooth and mellow on the flavor as well as finish. Just a slight shade darker and it would be a dead ringer appearance-wise.