Marin Old Dipsea Barleywine Style Ale

Brewed by Marin Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Larkspur, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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Fruity, malty, herbal aroma, some light brown sugar, cinnamon, faint alcohol, pineapple, spice and earthiness. Deep reddish brown in color, filtered, with a fine head and delicate lacing. Flavor is sweetly malty, almost sugary, with some faint apple, red grape, light pine and spiciness. Some subtlety here. Mellow Barleywine.

A deep mahogany color with a medium creamy beige head. Aroma is sweet with a touch of hops. Taste starts very sweet and pretty much stays that way, slightly acidic, not much bitter. Aftertaste is malty and slightly sweet.

I missed this at the Toronado Barleywine festival - so here it is in bottle. Dark pour with very little head. Strong malt with flavor. It is very thick and syrupy - needs to be balanced a bit with some hops. Strong plum sweetness. But the real question is, will Kansas overcome the 18 point deficit or will Syracuse continue to dominate?

Cask at the RAF 2003: Sweet, lucious alcohol grapefruit aroma. Good amount of juniper berries and hops. . . wonderful mouthfeel and a beautiful finish.

Grapefruity aroma. Malt is floral/grapefruit, a touch of toffee as well. Incredibly smooth on the palate. Fruity, but not sour or cloying, an unusually high rating for me given the grapefruity undertones present here. Balance wins here in a big way, and the best part about this beer is the finish. A fruity interpretation of the style, but innovative and pulled off well.

After the sweetness of the Old Saguero, this was a refreshing barleywine. Tasty, with floral hops and a subdued, creamy flavor. Alcohol was present but not too strong. There was probably a little to be desired, but all in all, this was quite enjoyable.

On tap at the 2003 Toronado Barleywine Festival: Super sweet. Cloying. Needs way more bittering hops to balance this beer. Very syrupy. (Note: Apparently my taste buds don't match the judges'--this beer took 5th place in the festival.)

Aroma is dominated by floral and malty smells. A little alcogol present. Flavor was balanced - not a lot of finishing hops compared to other BWs. More of an old ale or scotch ale.

There’s a slight hoppy aroma that can’t quite get past the vanilla lethal alcohol smell. It pours a beautiful dark magenta with a head that starts big and sticks around the edges over time. The taste is the one thing that I can’t get past. It is a bit one dimensional. There is a big hop presence, but it can’t stand up to the alcohol. Perhaps aging this another year would even this out. It is definitely on my list for a rerate in a year, if I can find another bottle to cellar, although, I can’t find a vintage on the bottle, so who knows when it’s from.

Bottle. A deep mahogany color with a wonderfully creamy light-brown head that left a trail all down the glass. Sticky sweet body. The aroma is fruit filled with pineapple, raisins, and plums. Sweet malts and caramel provide the foundation.