Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Petaluma, California USA

Bottle. Poured a brown amber with a red tint and minimal head. Aroma was full of grainy notes as well as some sweet notes. Flavor was thick with a strong malt flavor and underlying alcohol notes. Nice and thick on the tongue.

great barley wine...reddish brown pour, no head, no lacing...not overly malty sweet...hides the booze very well...dangerously nice

On tap at Eli Cannon’s (Middletown, CT): Pours clear, deep red and emits an aroma of oxidized, sweet caramel and IPA-esce piney hops. Flavors of sugary citrus peel that just came out of a toaster oven. Full-bodied. Drinkability: Sweet and solid. Rebuy: Yes. #205 on 21112009, DG.

VINTAGE: Twenty’Aught-9 This pours a medium-dark amber color, with some nice ruby highlights. It has a thin head of light, creamy, tan colored foam. This is really just a surface covering film, with a couple of islands of bubbles. The lacing is almost web-like and quite sticky. This is a damn fine smelling barleywine. It smells huge, rich and decadent. Just the way I like them to be. There is a big presence of rich, sweet, malts. Loads of brown sugar presence, along with about a ton of butterey caramels. A light touch of roasted nuttiness. Very light hint of hops. Deliciously enticing. The taste follows the nose, completely. Everything that is there, is also here, and there are no unannounced guests. This one is very rich and delicious. Full-bodied, without question. A very nice, low-to-medium level of carbonation. Very smooth, with a mild level of creaminess. Okay, 11.00%abv, combined with richness of flavor, make this one a fantastic sipper. This is not designed for mass consumption, but it is meant for mass enjoyment. Absolutely delicious.

Bottle. Hazy brown pour. Smells of vanilla, clove. Extremely sweet...wow. Definite vanilla. I don’t really know what to say...very sweet. Maybe barleywines just aren’t for me. Who knows...

Sampled at Rattle n Hum. This beer put me slightly over the edge during a harmless after work tasting. Came recommended my CUJO. Amber with slight red tint with an off white head in appearance. Served far too cold! I tried to let it warm up a bit, but I was too thirsty. Generous aroma that is bready, spicey, malty, and sugary. Really is a staple Barley Wine... rich dark fruits, sherry, esters, rich brown sugars 3.75

Pours a red-orange amber with a small off-white head. The aroma is mostly sweet caramel malt, some darkfruit, and some PNW hops. The flavor is sweet, candy like malt, with some citric fruit, and caramel malt. Finishes with hop bitterness and boozy alcohol. Chewy palate, slightly oily, with soft carbonation. Sweeter or not as bitter as I had expected, but solid all around.

RnH: ’08 batch: loved this brew, would love to age it... "over the top all around... nose is like sticking your head in the barrel! Deep amber, red/brown, thin head film yet great dry, off white lacing, tons of dark fruits, cooked sugars, esters, heat, sweet, awesome, definitely fermented prunes."