Legend Barleywine (2009 and later)

Brewed by Legend Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Richmond, Virginia USA

Serve in Snifter

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Tap @ Legend. Dark brown witcreamy mocha head. Dissipates. Smells like buttered rum. Sweet but followed by a hop stop. Boozy. (Tasting note- the Tabasco from dinner is still hanging around so I may not have the clearest palate.)

Location: Tap at Legend, 12/27/09
2009 Vintage (15.3% ABV according to the Big Board)

Aroma: Aroma of some fruit, berries, citrus hops
Appearance: Caramel colored beer, white head
Flavor: Big, somewhat sweet flavor, nice bitterness
Palate: Full body, and not nearly as hot as the ABV would suggest
Overall Impression: This was a really good Barleywine, one of the smoothest, nicest drinking Barleywines I’ve had in a while. I couldn’t believe how smooth this was, and how well they hid the 15.3%, it was hardly there at all. Really dangerous beer, that is for sure. I really enjoyed it.

Pours a hazy, light orange, with a very small, off-white head. A very fruity aroma, with notes of alcohol, malt, and caramel. Feels very smooth with subtle malt notes, and fruit, a mild alcohol slips in there, followed by a bit of warming. Very well put together, I might have to age one!

Bottle Vintage 2009 at The Barley Wine Tasting, London - many thanks to Kenny. Pours orange-ruby, lightly hazy, with a fine, off-white cream head. Lots of caramel on the nose, some wet pine. Big sweet flavor with tons of toasty sugar, berries, gingerbread, orange, alcohol, light spicy pine. Full bodied with fine carbonation. Warm ginish with lots of caramel, moderate spices, subtle piney bitterness, toasted sugars. Drinks very well for the ABV and has an interesting spice aspect. Good one.

On tap at the brewpub on 11/07/2010. Clear caramel amber body with a small white head. Sweet fruit (grape) and caramel aroma. Sweet grape falvor with light caramel and some floral hops. Full body with moderate carbonation.

This poured a murky brown color with basically no head at all. Aroma was dark fruits, lots of caramel and toffee, and some piney hops in their too with some alcohol. Flavor was nice smooth caramel malts, some plum flavors and a nice hoppy bitter finish. This really is atwo sided beer, if really cold it is dangerously drinkable, but when it warms the alcohol really shows and its tough to swallow.

12oz bottle via trade. Poured a good looking super dark brown body with a smller mocha beige foamy head. Aroma is very sweet with notes of figs, raisins, mollasses, slight touch of nut, alcohol. Great syrupy mouthfeel that is almost chewy with big carbonation and a long lingering burn that lasts and lasts. Flavor isn’t quite as sweet as the aroma, notes of raisin and fig along with dry breaad, nuts, molassas and old caramel. Good stuff.

(Sample Date: 11/7/2010 Source:Legend Brewery) Richmond Beerhistoric Tour. Legend 2010 Barleywine. Grape notes with a slight sourness in the aroma with spicy yeast character and caramelized sugars. Very clear golden with ring of white head. Flavor follows aroma with a medium finish that dries quickly and a bit of warming.

UPDATED: SEP 30, 2011 Draught @ Bakushu Club Popeye, Tokyo. 14,5% version (2011?), rated on 05.09.2011
Mahogany colour, no head. Aroma has sweet caramel, some oaky notes. Actually rather close to Utopias but less alcohol and more sweetness. Flavour has also some alcohol. It is rather woody with oak and some vanilla‐like cognac notes. Acrid finish, rather weird stuff but still good in some way.

Legend’s barleywine is a massive affair, pouring a murky dark mahogany, the huge alcohol content supports a small fizzy head for only a fleeting moment. Aroma is complex and rife with whiskey, raisins, coffee, prunes, and dark cherry. Hot with alcohol and quite bitter, the hops still don’t have the umpf to cut the huge amount of sweet malt here.