3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/2012oz bottle, batch 71, poured into a tulip.
Pours a deep, clear amber which shines bright orange when held up to light. The head is very small, off-white and hangs around for a bit as a collar with good lacing.
The aroma is big on caramel malts but with plenty of floral and grassy hops in the nose as well. There is also a musty fruit sweetness that mixes with the booze with a bready character throughout.
The taste follows the aroma and has a generous caramel and bready malt backbone with lots of alcohol soaked fruit. There is more of an earthy hop presence in the taste as opposed to citrus hops. The finish definitely has the hop bitterness I was expecting.
The mouthfeel is sticky sweet with less than moderate carbonation, leaving the palate coated with the tastes.
This is a very good barleywine with an interesting hop profile on top of a musty sweetness with plenty of alcohol burn. Good but not great for me.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle courtesy of Porcelainbomb (reddit trader). Pours dark orange and gold with zero carbonation. Aromas are sweet sugary goodness, apricot, caramel and soap. Flavors are big sweet candy, then alcohol both burn and flavor, then something that tastes akin to carrot juice and finally some intense hop bitterness. Palate is very heavy in weight but a little thin and hot, it would benefit from some carbonation. Overall, this is a good beer though it is hard to wrap my head around all the flavors and feelings this is trying to convey to the drinker; it is a little too broad in flavor which causes it to become muddled. Still above average due to it’s scope and the fact that not many brewers would take this kind of a chance.
3.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
12 oz. cellared bottle from 2008.
Poured amber and more-or-less clear. Although bottle conditioned, the aromatics seem similar to a barrel-aged beer. Some of that is the suggestion of brandy in this high ABV ale. Also smells a little fruity. Has a medium-full body with some harshness from the alcohol.
Taste: very strong flavor; no style on bottle but "imperial barleywine" seems appropriate. Mildly bitter.
O: an extreme ale that seems a little over the top and with the high ABV a bit too obvious. Rough and unrefined in contrast with an aged Firestone DBA that preceded it.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
12oz bottle of batch 78 (drinking with Conflux 1, The Dissident, and Adam) pours a cloudy orange and gold with a small off-white head. Aroma of caramel, brown sugar oranges Taste similar to aroma with rye malts, sweet, with some lingering hop bitterness of the finish. Very nice and easy to drink for 10%. Pretty awesome Barley Wine.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle from International Trade; hazy amber pour with frothy white head, peachy and alcohol aroma, quite floral taste peach sweet, can feel the ABV.
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle to glass. Thickes head ive ever seen. Took a good 10 min to receed. Has a bit of candied sugar to it but less than the typical barleywine. A bit spicy and can taste the alcohol. Its like a golden ale just 3 times stronger. Decent but dont see the biig deal.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Tap @ HOTD. Dark amber, with thin head. Aroma of malt, over ripe fruit and some alcohol.
Taste is complex with caramel, spice and some alcohol warmth balanced with some bitterness
4.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Pours murky orange with a thickcwhite head. Aroma is sweet malt, brown sugar, toffee, dark fruit, brown sugar, and molasses. Taste is brown sugar, toffee, cane syrup, caramel covered apples, and some booziness. Finishes bitter with medium to high carbonation.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
355ml bottle. Clear golden colour with average to huge, firm, frothy to creamy, fairly lasting, moderately lacing, white head. Intense heavy malty aroma, hoppy counterweight, a strawy touch. Taste is sweet malty, hoppy counterweight again; warming, slightly biting alcohol in the finish; sticky palate. Intense, balanced of course, but simply not my taste.
4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Back log. Enjoyed at a tasting with some local beer buddies 2 weeks ago. Batch #73. Fantastic Barley Wine. Caramel/Brown sugar on the palate. Love this brew.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle, batch 81, consumed 4/16/2013. Pours hazy golden with dense, creamy white head, all kinds of lacing. Aroma is caramel, bread, cardboard, citrus, spice, grass, and vinous notes as well. Thick, viscous, syrupy texture. Lively carbonation, full body. Taste of honey, caramel -- lots of sweetness here. Some spiciness, a shade of oxidation (or whatever the hell that taste is I think is oxidation in aged beer, anyway). Warming alcohol. Anise. Nice bitterness in the finish -- muted, but just right to cut the sweetness of the rest. Overall: Extremely sweet. Almost too much (but not quite). Delicious beer, one to which I keep returning. 8/4/8/4/16
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