Harpoon Leviathan Barleywine Style Ale

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

Serve in Snifter

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Yes, this is one great tasting barleywine maybe it is a tad watery and pricy however I could drink this one all day and night. It is simple and sometimes simple is best. I enjoy all of Harpoon’s offerings.

Translucent dark copper, part dense and part bubbly beige head, both creamy and resinous full body, medium-high carbonation.

Aroma: caramel sweet roasted malt, bready yeast, silage, and leafy hops.

Taste: silage, leafy hops, alcohol, bready yeast, sweet roasty malt, and a bit of carbonic acid.

Really needs to be cellared for a year or two, then would probably be really nice. All the flavors of a great barleywine are there, but are young and slightly harsh, and not really getting along yet. To analogize, a bunch of great players but no teamwork yet.

Pours a three fingered cream head that slowly fades to a thin layer, leaving a good lace. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied. Expecting a dark fruit nose but it is sweet malt. Color is crystal clear amber. Flavor is malty sweet with a good hop backbone. Some lingering hoppiness. High ABV is hidden. $3.00 for a 12oz bottle from Bert’s Better Beers Hooksett, NH.

THOUGHTS: A very nice barley wine that hid its bit ABV fairly well. I don’t understand all the lower scores. The alcohol built up as it warmed, but never became harsh. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a clear, dark amber-red with an average; off-white head that mostly diminished and left excellent lacing. The aroma had heavy grain, cereal, toasted malt, molasses, caramel and candy; light to moderate resin, pine and peachy hops; raisin; prune; apple; cherry; brown sugar; a little maple syrup; alcohol; and that barley wine smell. The initial flavor was rather to heavily sweet and moderately bitter; while the finish was heavily to almost harshly sweet and moderate to rather bitter with a long duration. There was caramel, brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, earthy and herbal hops, pine hops, peach, apple, cherry, grain, some resinous hops and hints of chocolate. The medium to full body was fairly oily and then a little dry with fairly soft, yet tingly carbonation and a moderately alcoholic finish.

Nose of candied fruit, toffee. Nice blend of flavors, on the sweet side but far from cloyingly sweet or sticky. Really well balanced. This one took me by surprise not having heard much of Harpoon’s Leviathan line and not being the biggest Barley Wine fan.

slight tawny color, white head. low retention rate. apples, plums, figs, some spices. good solid hop character, but the malts outweigh them which is nice for an american barleywine. very mellow, great aged or fresh..

Yeah I called her up; she gave me a bunch of crap about me not listening to her enough or something, I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying attention...

From the 2010 batch stamped #316 - properly aged for three years. It pours a beautiful looking copper amber with a lingering, soft tan head. Maybe a hint of red when held to the light. The aroma is malt forward immediately and sweet with a kind of apple or pear character dancing around the edges. Low hop aroma. The body is medium and smooth. The taste has a sweet malt beginning and then I get the earthy, floral hops erupting in the aftermath and lingering briefly. This one has aged beautifully.

on draft poured out amber with little head and carbonation...the aroma of warm alcohol and dark fruit very prominent...the sweet malt and dark fruit flavor followed by the warmth of the alcohol burn results in a very nice beer..aging? anything is possible.

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