Howe Sound Woolly Bugger

Brewed by Howe Sound Inn and Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Squamish, Canada

Serve in Snifter

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187 ml bottle from the brewery, seeing how it is after 2 years’ release, 29th month of life. Poured a brownish body without any head. Looks and taste like rich malt, slightly boozy aroma and there is alcohol warming in the taste, with a bit of booze in the aftertaste. Certainly hits its style, more British in experience, the hops are behind toffee and...butterscotch, understated citrus taste. Smooth drinker.

Bottle ? ml
Aroma: great malt depth , hefty smooth with refined alcohol. Nice hint of smooth bittering hop. 8-
Appearance: neat shade of deep dark amber. Good light goes through. Medium white top
Palate / Taste: Full bodied. Plenty of malts, very proper, clean barley wine. Very nice surprise here. Old school, big balanced malty character. Barley wine that is not wants to be double Imperial pale ale. Solid offering. Highly recommended.

34.1cl bottle courtesy of pjdipes. It pours with an amber body supporting a nice tight tan head of foam. The aroma offers up sweet malts that are a bit musty as well as some sweet hazel nut notes and then faint molasses and dark fruity ester aromatics. The taste is similar with thick malts, sweet hazel nuttiness and molasses. Behind those notes I get thin layers of sweet dark fruity esters and a pleasing earthiness. Cool stuff.

33cl bottle sample @ RBBWG 2013, courtesy of 77ships. Cuivrée, foncée, col beige. Arôme est malté, pointe de caramel, sucrée. Palais présente ce côté type de barley wine tirant plus vers le style britannique, léger sucre brun voire caramélisé collant aux lèvres, houblon généreux contribuant à un profil amer citronné assez sec, pour une balance agréable mettant le profil malt bien en avant sans pour cela obstruer le reste .

Nose of dark fruit toffee caramel brown sugar herbal aged hop notes. Auburn copper pour great head lace and legs. Nice looking beer. Flavors of dark fruit toffee brown sugar herbal notes a touch pf brine tang alcohol but smooth and warming. Lingering residual sugar. Really solid beer.

12-oz. 2012 bottle cracked brand-new. Pours a clear but incredibly dark mahogany with bright rubied edges. Dense creamy tan head that falls quickly away to not much at all. Loose drippy lace. Big rich caramel, molasses, and brown sugar nose. Creamy medium body with lively carb--surprisingly light and effervescent for a barleywine, or anything 11%. Caramel, raisins, molasses, brown sugar, balsa wood, and black walnuts on the mid palate, with a long sweetish finish.

Toffee and caramel combine with a pleasing nutty character in the nose. some dark pit fruits and light alcohol are also apparent. clear mahogany-brown body is topped by a decent off-white head that stands well and leaves some lace. the sweetness of the toffee and caramel are offset by some pleasant roast malt notes and the nuttiness lingers in the aftertaste. Perhaps not as full bodied as I’d expect considering the sweetness and stronger carbonation might have elevated the flavour a bit. Tulip glass. Cellar temperature. Bottle purchased (?) at Toby’s in (?) December 2012.

Sampled from bottle @ RBBWG 2013. Hazy murky opaque reddish color, small white head. Smell and taste malts, lightly alcohol, some bitterness as well as some sweetness. Nicely balanced, good body, medium carbonation.

UPDATED: JAN 12, 2012 On tap at St. Augustine’s, pours magohony with a small ring of head. Aroma of brown sugar, caramel and considerably more hops than malt. Flavour is quite sweet, with brown sugar, caramel and a lingering hop kick along with sweetness. Very lightly carbonated and soft palate. Alcohol is barely noticeable. Glad I got to try this limited release, but it’s a pretty middle-of-the-road barley wine.

(341ml bottle) Purchased at Liquor Plus Douglas in Victoria for $5.99. Pours a lightly frothy almond colored head atop a deep reddish body. Nose is nicely smoked with toffee and cantaloup in the rear. Very warm and inviting - not to mention how well the alcohol is hidden. Fruity: figs, bruised peaches and melon lead with smooth vanilla and diluted bourbon chaser. Very impressive and nice size format, I’ve finding it difficult to stomach a barleywine bomber so this 12oz is perfect. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPod; and powered by RateBeer.com, the world’s largest and most accurate beer database.