Kuhnhenn Big N Bold Barley Wine

Formerly brewed at Kuhnhenn Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Warren, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle from puddintane. Pours dark like cola with no head. Obviously pretty old but I can taste the good in it. Caramel, little booze, actually quite good. Arima and flavor are distorted but still drinkable.

Bottled. Thanks Marsiblursi Red-brown colour with low head. Sweet, syrupy molasses dominating the aroma. Along with the sewer also sensed this is a terrible smell. High acidity in flavour, there are also raisins and old coffee, prune and red sourish apple. A weird beer. Mouthfeel and flavour is sweet-sour, it’s lactic and vinegary, sweet and sticky. In short, this went bad.

(Bottle) Pours deep beautiful brown with red highlight. Small head. The aroma is super malty with tones of brown sugar, syrupy, molasses, grains, dried fruits, wet earth, mud and wet leather. Very sweet and malty on the nose. Light acidic aroma. The flavour is medium to heavily sweet, medium acidic and light bitter. Raisins, vinegar, brown sugar, sherry, sour sherries sticky malt. The mouthfeel is sticky and tart with light carbonation. Quite off-tasting. Medium bodied.

2006 bottle from my Secret Santa - thanks, deyholla! I can has infection? I can! Yeah, here we go again. If only there were a "medium hop aroma, strong malt flavor" and so on. Dank rusty water pour with no carbonation at all and that now familiar tartness in the nose one encounters so often with Kuhnhenn’s bottles. If you close your eyes you can pretend it’s a homebrew Consecration clone, I guess.

Bottles from 2005, 2006, 2009. Brown, thin tan head. Aroma of butterscotch. Light body, flavors of maple syrup and cherries. Very sweet, but also slightly acidic. Average.

355mL courtesy of ryan (?). Pours very deep brown with a thin, yellowish/beige head. Spotty lace. Aroma is toffee, rich caramel, cedar chest, spices. Taste is very sweet, cloying sweetness, full of toffee/caramel but little depth and one-dimensional.

Bottle:   Deep caramel, brownish in color, thin beige head, dies quickly, very sparce lacing.   Certainly looks aged.   Sweet biscuity nose, caramel, soft malts, oh lordy that smells good. &bnsp A little graham cracker as well.   Wow, quite spry on the tongue.   Zesty, a lot of candied citrus peel and caramel.   It is fairly sweet, yet not all that malty.   Hop presense is low.   This one still has some legs.   This is somewhat of an odd duck because it has this sweet zesty candied citrus peel that just dominates over everything else.   Caramel and soft dark pitted fruit take up the backside.   For being 12% I can’t tell at all.   Alcohol is very well hidden.   Body and mouthfeel are fairly average, yet this one is quite sticky.   Finishes with a sweet citrusy note, slight caramel, touch of pine, and a whole lot of character. &nbps Not as malty as others of the same class, but still enjoyable.   Big props to Styles for trading away one of these!

12 oz bottle, 2006. Dark brown with a beige coating. Nose is maple, tar, wet wood, prunes and raisin. Medium body with a fermented fruit tang. Initially very sweet honey and smoky caramel. An unfortunate sourness emerges; grapefruit then cider vinegar and unripe plum. Each sip is briefly sublime followed by a lime chaser. Interesting for what it is but obviously not as intended.

From notes: Draught @ Kuhnhenn: Pours a cloudy brown with a small off white head. Aroma, earthy and citrus hops, brown sugar, caramel with slight fruit notes. Flavor, sweet caramel, and brown sugar, some strange vegetal notes, and a nice hop flavor of citrus and earthy notes. Smooth and sweet with a medium full mouthfeel. Tried again in the bottle and it is definitely going down hill. There are significant signs of infection. If you have them drink now or risk the drain pour. The rating represents my original notes.

12oz bottle courtesy of alexasdad06. Pours a murky reddish brown with zero head. The nose is dark fruit, tobacco, leather and booze. The taste is dark fruits, cocoa, and sadly, vinegar. I think this one is a bit past its prime. Thanks for the opportunity to try it Brad!