Ithaca Excelsior! Old Habit

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

Serve in Snifter

750ml crown cap marked "Released: June 07" and "Bottle# 1575" purchased at the brewery in Oct 2008. Stored fairly well. Light hiss upon opening. Poured gingerly, but no need, beer very mellow. Slow to form quarter inch head which quickly died to very minimal lacing. Dark brown leaning red. Aromas of candied apple, whiskey, and bran muffin. Well integrated alcohol considering overtones of whiskey flavor. Smooth, unctuous masterful texture. Tastes like rye whiskey and whole wheat waffles. Lower carbonation utterly persistent right to the murky dregs. Would absolutely buy and age again.

Bottle acquired from JahNoth in May 2008, thanks! Batch E!007, capped only. Nose has chocolate, heavy caramel and resin, light smoke, tar and ash, molasses. Murky caramel-brown pour with a short but pretty tan head. Taste reminds of an aged Bigfoot, with all the dulled hops and sledgehammer malt profile, but with the smokier, devilish character of an Old Ale. Somewhat oily body at first, low and smooth bitterness, lots of spicy rye and smooth woody tones. Vanilla and gentle earth (humus-silky). Alcohol well-integrated, gentle warming. Elegant, classy brew, a perfect winter sipper.

Had this one sitting in the cellar for a while and it appears this one is infected. Gushed upon opening. Pours really dark reddish brown with huge tan head. Aromas of caramel, malts, wood and infected tartness. Flavors of caramel, malts, earthy dark fruits, bit of wood, and quite a bit of tartness. Really kind of undrinkable at this point. Would have been pretty solid if not infected.

ottle froths. Dark brown with large white head. Iight malt, heavy Brett pineapple sweetness over-riding smell. Flavor is more caramel, lightly burnt, some Brett coming in dry, farmy finish. Bit metallic, but not so bad.

This poured a dark red to lighter brown and murky. Aroma was of infection, slightly tart, some dark fruits and figs, as well as some of the whiskey too. Flqavor was not quite as infected as the roma, but still there was a definate odd flavor, i think both from the bugs and the rye. Wish I was able to try a non infected one of this, it could be interesting.

Had this at the RB Pgh Tasting, lthy’s place, 5/21/11. Big thanks to MrChopin for this brew. This bottle was batch 017. Big thick pour once we got this foaming bomb to stop erupting & spilling over. The taste and palate is enormous thick chewy cloying something. The aroma is also cloyingly sweet. Thick and quite alky taste continues. Rude, nasty barley wine taste impression. Even tho a few of us here said it was infected, its difficult for my to differentiate this from other barley wines. No CO2. Does have a somewhat rude hint of sourness on the backend, I guess this attribute is what others are identifying as infected. Yes, a pretty interesting brew, and that mildly tart finish makes it unique among BWs. Thanks Kevin for the opportunity to have this beer, otherwise I probably never would have had this in a lifetime!

Brown-red, beige cover. Foamy. Aroma is lots of caramel. Taste is lots of caramel, some dark fruity. Something a bit off.

Bottle from Theresa’s Next Door, opened at DLD. Pours a ruddy brown with a ton of crap floating in it as it was a light gusher. robust foam on top. Nose is a brett infection, some funky notes but more horsey than I’d like. Some sweet vanilla and oak notes come through as does a certain cherry note. Fruity. On taste, this is an odd one. There is an overwhelming bitterness that grows unpleasant after a while, but the base flavors that do exist are round and full. Light spicy cherry type notes with some light sweetnees. It is astringent though. Damn, should have been a better beer.