Left Hand Oak Aged Widdershins

Brewed by Left Hand Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Longmont, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter

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2004 bottle shared by BobSandage: Pours a clear copper bronze with a nicely-lacing thin ring of white head. Aroma has some sweet caramel and dry oaky notes with a touch of piney hops. Starts with some mild earthy malt and finishes with some dry warming alcohol. This needs a touch more sweetness and fresh hops to balance the dry oak character.

2004 bottle.Pours a murky,cloudy apple cider looking kind’ stuff with a tiny bit of head.Looks nice and leaves some lacing on the sides of the glass after some swirling. I get a little oak in the nose but it is still heavily laden with caramel,toffee and sweet fruity syrup aromas. Taste a little bitter but it is thick and syrupy with sweet candy. Can this be only the 7th rating???

2004 Vintage. Poured a hazy gold color with thin head and tiny floaties. Aroma was fruity with earthy hop and a small amount of wood. Malty flavors wioth hops that run front to back. Light on the wood again and a moderate bitter finish. Decent balance. Warming but alcohol doesn’t particularly stand out.

2004 Bottle: This pours an almost murky amber-orange with a thin, bubbly white head that halos and films rather rapidly. The aroma is a woody, deep caramel with light berries and cherries, a sour, bitter scent, and the warmth of alcohol. It becomes sweeter to the nose as it warms. This is has a chewy thickness in the mouth and warms the tongue. The flavor is a musty, dirty sweet caramel, woody and slightly smokey, with juicy light fruits, an earthy hop bitterness, and a peppery alcohol burn. The finish is an earthy, herbal bitterness with a touch of the caramel and a definite blast of alcoholic heat. Not a bad barley wine from Left hand.

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2004 corked 750 mL bottle. Pours amber to bronze with a small light brown frothy head with some lined lacing. Huge aroma of fruit (berries) and oak, musty and moldy nutty malt (straw) and yeast. Mold and fruit hop berry flavors with a malt body and an acidic bitter hop finish. Medium bodied warming fizzy dry palate.

750ml corked and caged bottle, bottle conditioned. 2004 Edition. Appearance: poured into a wide, shallow La Trappe glass, it casts a deep, hazy crimson, with very slim head, to none in no time. Aroma: fierce and vibrant, vast and heady, dark fruit and cognac, ripe berries and grapes, with a brash, burnished feel, my favorite stamp of a barleywine aroma. Taste/mouthfeel: complex, and perplexing, full in the mouth, a mess of flavors, but very nice, don’t get me wrong. Big, bold, and blaring away on the tongue, then softly simmering, slowing surely. Bottoms out a bit too early, and doesn’t feel cohesive enough. Rings bright, blatant fruit, with accompanying alcohol, with each sip, but there’s a lack of coherent character here. Nice attempt at a barleywine, first of the kind from this brewery that I’ve tried, and while I wanted to like it, especially after paying around $10 for it, I find the reach exceeds the grasp. It tries, and falls short of greatness, but it is a try...an expensive, well-meaning failure. Started promising, ends mediocre. Alas...

2004 bottle (assuming that means the 2004 Widdershins aged in oak, since this just appeared this month). Head is initially small, frothy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy medium amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (caramel, nuts), lightly hoppy (apricot), with notes of plum, vanilla, wood, light note of sherry. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Though it’s been too long (three years) since I’ve had the regular Widdershins, one thing is quite clear: the hops are virtually gone from the nose. Based on the type used in the regular (English style my ass), this is a welcome change. This actually does smell like a British barleywine. Not a standout one, but a solid nose nonetheless. It falls down a bit in the mouth, though, being thin for the style, watery, and not all that flavorful. So yeah, it’s better for me than the regular (hoppy) Widdershins, but still not in the league of the greats.

750ml bottle corked. pours a light ruby red. it looks beautiful in my glass. thick creamy off white head dissipates rather quickly leaving just a ring of bubbles aroud the edge of the glass. aroma is sweet and fruity. taste is dark fruit, hops and alcohol with just a hint of oak. in all the flavor is balanced but not very strong. good but not alot going on. the after taste is lingering fruit and alcohol not strong but there none the less. leaves you with a dry mouthfeel. good beer