Magic Hat Chaotic Chemistry

Brewed by Magic Hat Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
South Burlington, Vermont USA

Reddish brown color with no head and no evidence of carbonation. Sweet liquor aroma, almost whiskey-ish. Flavor is very english in nature. The age has definitely done its work. This was smooth and incredibly easy to drink for its strength.

Batch 2, Bottle#610 (11/04). Pours out a nice brownish color with an aroma like a fine wine. The taste is pretty complex. Sweet malts, tons of oak in the flavor with some notes of strong alcohol on the finish. Very very sweet, but more tolerable than some other barley wines I’ve had. Pretty damn good beer

Sample courtesy of Silphium. 11.1.04 batch 3, bottle # 634. Pours deep mahogany with film for head. Aroma to me had a port/sherry like wine character instead of bourbon. hmmm? Huge alcohol in aroma and flavor. Flavor is up front caramel sweetness, but again lots of dark fruit/vinous notes instead of bourbon. Something just didn’t mesh well in this brew.

09.30.05 Muddy brown stands alone. Big vinous nose. Flavor is sugary, leather, salt, lots and lots of old wood. Alcohol is too much. Plum skin astringency sneaks in. Tobacco.

Thanks to 46er3498 for this awesome brew. Been anticipating any of these magic hat specialty brews and finally landed one thanks to him. Pour was a smooth murky brown with no head to speak of. Nose is overly full of bourbon and alcohol. Batch 4 for anybody interested. Taste is so smooth, and really I guess it should be too, 36 mo. in a bourbon cask, then another year since its been bottled. Anyways bourbon again takes charge in the tastebud dept. with some nice caramel trying to blend in. Sweetness is super strong also. Reminds me of apple cider sometimes. Very dark fruitish, big fig and/or raisin. Very enjoyable, a little long on the bourbon, but still a hell of a beer. Vanilla notes also before I forget.

Best part of this beer is the bottle. I didn’t know what to expect from this beer. I knew nothing about it going in and after seeing the bottle was not as happy. Poured a brownish-amber color. Fruity with the sweeter citrus fruits and unbalanced alcohol. Biggest problem with the beer was that it was pretty tart. Too tart. Maybe if I expected it but just to hit me the way it did and then mixed with alcohol hurt me. Maybe one day I will try it again to see if it was just the one bottle.

Batch 2, bottle 1240. This bottle was a pain to open... the cork split in half, leading it to become a two corkscrew job. Eventually the beer is unleashed. Poured an effervescent deep amber with a semi-creamy off-white head which lasted. Nice aroma of cream, fruit, citrus, a touch of alcohol. Taste is less assertive than the aroma. Somewhat fruity, grassy hops, some saltiness, a bit of retronasal alcohol. Very dry finish. Drinkable... not as sweet as I would like.

Sampled at the Ohio Labor Day gathering, provided by me via trade with OldGrowth. Bottled 1 November 2004, Batch 3, Bottle #634. Dark red-brown body, thin off-white head. Big bourbon nose with sweet candyish malts, caramely, and fruity. Strong bourbon naturally made the first impression on my palate, the body also being leathery with musty dark fruits and caramel. Surprisingly subdued alcohol. A very good, complex barleywine aided rather than hindered by bourbon cask aging, as the big malts balanced out the bourbon heat. Worth a purchase for those who like their barleywines on the sweet side.