Harpoon Leviathan Barleywine Style Ale

Brewed by Harpoon Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Picked this up yesterday in a 12oz bottle at Harpoon Brewery in Windsor VT. Enjoyed at 60 F in a Snifter. Deep brownish amber with 3 finger tan head that fades to 1 finger with very decent lacing. Scent is ultra sweet. Smells just like a barleywine. Some hints of spices and honey. Taste slightly bitter with English and German hop profiles. Also a nice balance of sweetness, bitterness and solid malt backbone. some pineapple and peach tastes and some brown sugar. Medium carbonation, heavy body.

Aged 2 years (2010 vintage): The very first thing I noticed about this beer was how well the aroma survived over the period of two years. Its sweetness was noticeable from the mouth of the bottle even before I poured it. Once it’s in the glass, it’s color is a soft, dark orange and its head is off-white, still well-formed after aging. Carbonation is still present, but light and still enough to liven up this (no doubt) sweet and alcoholic brew. Its aroma is very nice. The sweetness of crystal malts, light alcohol, and floral, earthy hops dominate the nose, and has held up to the years pretty well. It’s smooth and just a little mellow - there’s no doubt this beer could easily survive at least four years in the cellar before dropping off a cliff. In the mouth, it’s less sweet and more mellow, with alcohol taking the stage - so much so that it almost feels like a liquor in the mouth. Don’t let me fool you, though, it’s still a sweet, tasty brew. At finish, there’s a sensation in the throat that’s almost unpleasant, leading to a dry, fruity white wine-like lingering flavor in the cheeks - but with an odd bitterness. I’m not sure if additional aging would help this phenomenon, but I’d be willing to find out. Overall, it has a tease of classy smoothness, but still has some awkwardness to it - and I can’t tell if under or over-aging is to blame. Still, a heck of a good beer and much better aged than straight off the shelves.

Tap at rattle & hum. Ruby with a thin off-white head. Nose is interesting, spicy, coriander, malt. Mouth is warm, dusty, warm, sweetness, but red wine characteristics and oak comes through the more the flavour progresses. This beer has benefited being laid down. End is vanilla, red wine, enjoyable, good. ---via BeerBuddy

Bottle. Pours orangey/red with a foamy 1-finger light beige head. Aromas of citrus peel, slight juniper, caramel, and berry. The flavor is orangepeel, pine, and alcohol-soaked cherries. The aftertaste is cherry with bitter grass. Thick, full-bodied mouthfeel, and warming, with evident alcohol. Alright, but Triticus was better.

12oz bottle, backyard birthday style porno poor
Appearance - Clean amber, silky lacing
Aroma - Honey, hops, sweet oranges
Taste - Cherries, dried oranges, nutty, toffee, bitter hops

This beer was heavy as hell and fun to drink. Aggressively complex with surprisingly well hidden alcohol attributes. This one will only get smoother as it ages.

Pours a red orange with bright orange highlights and a small white head. Aroma of caramel, toffee, raw dough, cough medicine, soap, floral hops and a slight pine background. Tastes pretty similar with a mix of caramel toffee, earthy bitterness, slight white chocolate, soapy hops and medicine. Finishes with an "American" amount of bitterness. With an earthy and soapy aftertaste. This could be a decent beer, but the hops come off so damn chemically it’s distracting! Medium bodied for the style, heavy otherwise, with an over-filtered texture. At least it’s a good price.

Sinister scents of medicinal booze-soaked fruit and breads. Deep amber orange. Some suspension - guess the age at two years. Taste is semisweet chalk and alcohol burn. Heavy syrupy stuff here. Had this at a now closed joint in NH for the first time two years ago, for $3. Costs at least that in the store down this way.

Thanks for giving me this one, Harold. Nose is big alcohol, some vanilla and caramel/toffee and a touch of citrusy hops. Pour is brown with a short lived head. Taste is heavily alcoholic, some big caramel, sweet. Very warming. Fun to drink. Not bad, just too hot.

Tap - Red pour with no head. Robust palate, creamy note with ominous boozy presence. Represents style, well balanced.

Beautiful reddish copper color. Creamy head as well. Fruity alcohol aromas. Ripe bananas and apples. Clean fruity flavor with some ripe banana notes and alcohol esters as well. Overall, this is fairly drinkable, or the 10% ABV is becoming normal to me so it’s not as noticeable. You know what... buy it and drink it. Thank me later...