Mad River John Barleycorn

Brewed by Mad River Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Blue Lake, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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Dark cider/brown color; Medium creamy body; Aroma of sweet malt, caramel/candy, hops, & fruit; Flavor of slight roasted sweet malt, molasses/syrup, caramel, spicy hops, and some dark fruit; Finish is slightly bitter with some alcohol; Fairly well balanced; Overall, not too bad.

Bottle served in a snifter. 2006 Harvest. Pours clear, dense brown with amber hues. No head or lace. Heavy malt on the nose with a backdrop of floral hops. Loads of sweet malty goodness on the attack followed by a good dose of hoppy bitterness. Mostly caramel with a bit of chocolate. Full body, thick-creamy texture, low carbonation, and a medium bitter finish.

Caramel flavor with a noticeable alcohol flavor. Sweet and syrupy with a long-lasting aftertaste. Nice after-dinner sipper.

Originally reviewed: 3/31/10. 2008 Harvest. Poured into a pint glass. Pours a dark cherry-red with just a thin ring of off-white froth on the edges. The minutest of lace sticks to the glass. Looks fairly flat on the pour. I’m getting scents of toffee, molasses, cherries, syrup, and just the faintest of floral hops. The body is creamy and smooth. I can tell that some of the carbonation is lost, but it’s still a pleasant sipper. This beer starts out semi-sweet like cherry candy, but then melds to a smooth bitter taste on the finish. The bitterness is low here. Plenty of malt presence as I’m getting lots of toffee and caramel. Nothing really stands out here, but it’s still good nonetheless. Not a bad beer.

2008. Warming alcohol, malty character, spicy notes. Some caramel and bready notes, a nice sipper.

Bottle. Muddy dark orange/brown pour with a small white head. Nose is sweet caramel, malt, and some citrus. Moderate to full palate. Taste is sweet caramel first, then a bit of citrus hop following that up. Very good beer.

2008 vintage. 355 ml bottle. Dark brown and hazy. Medium creamy light beige head. Unusual for a barley wine. Slightly oxidized nose with chocolate and toffee and caramel. Dry papery bitterness. Very nice flavour profile. Lots of toffee. Delicious.

Bottle, poured a hazy brownish color with medium dissipating head. Lacing all over glass. Aroma is caramel, resin, spice, citrus and dark fruits. Med-light sweetness, light bitter. Medium-full body. Texture was kind of sticky while slightly thick and creamy. Big malty body with hop bitter finish. Not very smooth. Off the mark a bit.

Pours a crimson red, cloudy with white lacing. Smells sweet, molasses and carmel. Great balance of sweetness and hops. This is a barleywine that will make you happy! ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle 2011, lot of hops in aroma, clear orange color no head. Taste is medium bitter also medium palate, texture thin, little carbonation, bitter. Overall no typeical barley wine, like them more sweet!!