Left Hand Oak Aged Widdershins

Formerly brewed at Left Hand Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Longmont, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter

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Pours old copper penny w/ a tall, lasting froth that sits there like a dead horse. Snail tracks and a thick, downy canopy are leftover. Aromas of sweet malts and leathered hops. Nice! Full nectar w/ mellow residual effers. The texture is slippery. A big malt body supports a strict hop profile creating a perfect balance. Flavors of caramel, leather, butterscotch, and beef jerkey. The finish is long and savory with a strict asprin bittering component that leaves the palate clean and ready for another assult. It’s warming, generous, and the oak age really shows in the flavor profile giving this brew a remarkable flavor to experience. Highly recommended. This thing is so hoppy it’s headed down the DIPA highway and just swerves to catch the Barleyine Turn Pike. Close call man. Delicious!

750ml bottle 2007. Got thre pours from bottle. First was more fresh citrus, second more sweet malts and third oak and dried fruits. Darker orange body first pour had big head and has covered my glass with lacing. Citrus orange and apricot flavors , malted caramel and some toast and oak as well. Some dyness lingers on palate along with a mild sweetness, good winter sipping brew.

UPDATED: JUN 19, 2011 2011-06-19, corked bottle, vintage 2007, 9.1% ABV, 4 years old, 8-4-8-4-16=40
Hazy amber color, with a medium sized creamy layer. Aroma of generic wood and oak, vanilla, fudge, some caramel. Good body strength; strong flavor of toffee and fudge, very sweet, with evident vanilla/oak presence; the alcohol is also quite present, while the hop gives enough bitterness, but obviously less quality than it used to. It may be cloying in large quantities. Still good, but getting tired.

2008-02-16, corked bottle, vintage 2007, 9.1% ABV, 8-5-9-5-17=44
Hazy dark amber to chestnut color; creamy head, a thin layer is persistent, and nice, chaotic lace. Nice aroma of malt, caramel, soil, earthy hops, yeast, very light manure. Full bodied, it has a very good caramel flavor (like rhubarb candies), with a strong hopping of a very good quality, resiny; with the sweetness that I look for in a beer. It has of course a long and powerful final, bitter and sweet, like some less herbal Italian digestive liquors (Cynar), where just the alcohol is warming the mouth. I don’t notice the oak. Could as well be an American Strong Ale, since the hop almost prevail on the malt. The aroma is more complex, but the flavor and palate are more fulfilling. Straightforward, but extremely hedonistic, excellent.

Holy cow. I am big time surprised with how good this was. I had it after an Old Numbskull and the difference was negligible. really smooth and creamy in texture. hoppy and vanilla-y. I didn’t notice any oak whatsoever, though. fantastic. totally underrated.

Pours a gorgeous red mahogany with tight beige head. Woody, vanilla nose along with the heavy malt. Incredibly well balanced and drinkable barley wine. Very nice English hop character lasts even through the wood. The only criticism is that the barrel is just a little to dominant, but overall, a very enjoyable beer.

courtesy of Per Forsgren - pours a cloudy dark red-amber colour, very foamy beige head; correct lacing; very hoppy and complex aroma showing notes of apples, wood and caramel; sweet and full-bodied, a bit oily, a powerful bitterness soon appears leading to a long woody and caramelish finish where the fruity tones stay in the background - very good

From bomber, courtesy of Joe T. Wonderful rich nose, filled with oak and brown sugar. Great sweet nose, mild hop character. Smoooth. Huge flavor. Great barley wine with oak-aged flavors. Golden amber hazy with off-white lacing head. Medium-heavy body with medium-high carbonation, warming. Starts sweet and smooth with tons of brown sugar, oak, and candi. Big flavor. Very nice.

750ml bottle. 2007. pours clear and amber... keep the sediment solidly at the bottom of the bottle. very little head. aroma was a big with butterscotch and a little citrus. mouthful was a very pleasant fruitiness and finish was a little dry. nice departure from a traditional barley wine. not certain if it was the 2 years that made it such an enjoyable drink???

Much thanks to Brewfiend for sharing. Pours a super cloudy orangish brownish hue, with a big creamy white head. Very hoppy aroma with a good dose of dark candi sugar, brown sugar, and a nice toasty oaky touch. Very powerful mouthfeel with a good dose of creamy oakiness, as well as some sugary sweetness and roasted malts., The hops are definatly there, and show even more on the finish. There is an almost medicinal smokiness on the hops with a light touch of citrus and melon.

Draught. Nose is at first cherries, oak, caramel, and light peat smoke. More fruit, strawberries, light bananas, and some pineapple. Very clear, ruby-colored, with a thin silky head. Slight sharpness opens up to a soft but assertive velvety smoothness. Loads of fruit with some alcohol presense and a bit of hop balance. Chocolate, smoke, raspberries. Amazing for a generally mediocre brewery.