Ithaca Excelsior! Old Habit

Brewed by Ithaca Beer Company
Style: Barley Wine
Ithaca, New York USA

2007 PP SAF Bottle (#920) from Goldtwins, thanks!: Reddish and amber hued with a small beige head and minimal lace. The aroma has notes of oxidized old malts, leather, aromatic hops, earthy yeast esters, wood, rye, and plum notes. The taste is fruity and malty upfront with an olde school English Barleywine malt profile. A bit grassy, woody, vanilla, and rye spice on the finish. The mouth feel is soft and smooth, chewy and warming. Nice, a pleasurable drink.

Bottle #920 from goldtwins tasted at Pizza Port’s 2007 Strong Ale festival. Sweet caramel malty aroma. Dark cloudy amber color. A little oxidation. Excellent. I wonder what Excelsior on the bottle means? 9,4,8,4,17:4.2 Rerate at Another Santee Sampling. this time at toncatcher’s house. 8,4,6,3,15: 3.6

PP Strong Ale Fest 07. Bottle #920 from Goldtwins. Pours dark brown/copper with a finger tan head. Nose is sweet rye. Taste has rye as well, front heavy beer. No back end, a little deader than i expected.

Bottle sampled on 9/15/07: Pours a hazy ruby mahogany with a nicely-lacing small bubbled head. Complex dark caramely malty nose has good rye character and a touch of oak. Body starts fairly full and caramely sweet with good dark fruity complexity and some brown sugar. Nicely balanced and very drinkable.

Bottle 249 of ??. Deep, rich brown colour and a thick creamy tan head. Oily thick pour. Rich sweet malty aroma. Fairly strong hop character with pine and resinous hops. Warming intensifies the rye and brings out a shot of vanilla and sweet bourbon/oak aroma. Rich and sweet, soft rye spice and lots of bourbony sweetness. Good balance, fairly hoppy example, and one that I think might hold up well for a few years. Good balance, great beer for the colder weather.

[616-20070914] 1pt9.4floz (Botttle #650, w/ blankboy, jerc, tupalev). Light grapes and dark fruit malt contribute to a "subtle" bittersweet aroma. Hazy, dark brown body with a medium-lasting creamy light tan head. Sweet vanilla roasted malt flavour has some hints of breaded yeast. Medium-full body. Very nice vanilla notes.

Bottle: Dark brown, nearly black, black cherry hues, moderate to large frothy beige head, somewhat spritzy, spotty lacing.   Wonderful nose of whiskey, vanilla, nuts, graham cracker, rye, and caramel malts.   Smells divine!   On the tongue it seems a little bit more subdued, especially the malts.   Definitely some whiskey, oak, vanilla, nuts, and the caramel malt, but its not that heavy.   Flavor profile drops off fairly quickly from the beginning.   Not as complex on the tongue as you would think.   Somewhat light for a Barley Wine.   Seems more like a Strong Ale of sorts.   Warming, but not alcoholic.   Moderate body and mouthfeel.   Picking up some black cherry on the finish.   Soft caramel malts linger, very minor whiskey at this point.   Certainly good, but lacks complexity on the tongue.   The aroma was to die for, but it didn’t translate straight over.   Still tasty to drink tho, and quite clean too.   Just not as robust nor flavorful as you would expect based on the nose.   Many many thanks to Jah Noth for hooking a brother up, 4 times!

750ml via trade. (Thanks my SS summer 2007!) pours a deep brown with a small beige head. Nose is dark fruits and fusels. Flavors are a bit rough and do not really mesh, but i detect some rye, raisons, almonds, bitter bottom of the barrel burnt coffee, and grapefruit rind. THis bottle is marked June 2007 and i think it needs much more than 4 months in a cellar to smooth out. Body is medium, carbonation is moderate to high. It isn’t bad, it is just quite rough around the edges. Also, i don’t consider this a BarleyWine...American Strong Ale would be more fitting as it really does not fit within a style per say...