RateBeer

Midnight Sun Arctic Devil Barley Wine

Percentile
99
overall

bottled
common

on tap
available

Regional Distribution
Find this beer

Add Distribution Data
send corrections | shelftag |
RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
2764.01/5.03.98/5.0Winter14%97Snifter
Commercial Description:
Arctic Devil Barley Wine, aptly named after the ferocious wolverine of the north, is an English-style (meaning malt-inclined) barley wine. Though the recipe and process for Arctic Devil have evolved over the years, it is typically brewed in January then aged in oak barrels for several months before the entire batch is blended, bottled and released on the Friday after Thanksgiving. In its youth, Arctic Devil gnarls and snarls its way across the palate. Containing this beast of a beer for long periods in oak barrels--some having previously aged port, wine or whiskey--tames the unleashed malt and fierce hop flavors, melding and mellowing this powerful liquid into an incredible elixir worthy of a brewer's table. Each annual batch of Arctic Devil Barley Wine represents the brewers' resolve to create an intriguing and sought-after barley wine by precisely brewing to well-designed specifications, carefully selecting the type and combination of barrels to use for aging, and meticulously checking the beer as it ages. Distinct nuance and complexity are contributed by the wood's previous tenants, resulting in unique flavor profiles in each batch that continue to change over time. We invite you to savor Arctic Devil Barley Wine upon its release then cellar some for future enjoyment.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 fishingnet (1045), Brandon, Florida, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/59/104/517/20
Jun 23, 2008  
Bottle courtesy tpd975. Pours a dark amber with a small light tan head. Aroma is a bit boozy with notes of sweet malt, caramel, vanilla, and oak. Taste is sweet caramel, sweet malt, oak, vanilla, and alcohol. Medium full mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness and warm but smooth alcohol. Very good.


 gunhaver (1025), Tampa, Florida, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/105/518/20
Jun 17, 2008  
Bottle. Pours a reddish brown color, with a thick white head, and nice braids of lacing. Aroma is fairly boozy, with caramel, candy corn, and some chocolate in the end. Flavor is great, lots of caramel and toffee, roasted coffee, chocolate...delicious. Extremely tasty, nose is much more hot than the mouth. So good and smooth.


 nhorween (639), Chicago, Illinois, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/59/104/518/20
Jun 15, 2008  
22oz. Opaque red-brown pour with a dense tan head. Sweet smelling with well hidden but still detectable alcohol (my bottle said 10% abv). Vanilla, super buttery, toffee, caramel, woody and slightly earthy. Amazing well polished and rounded flavor - caramel, bourbon, vanilla, toffee again. Quite sweet, but not too sweet. Definitely drinkable as a dessert beer but not exclusively. Marvelous and well balanced.


 AmEricanbrew (1808), Doing Rogue, Louisiana, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/105/517/20
Jun 11, 2008  
Deep garnet color with a frothy tan head. Great aroma is vanilla bourbon, wood and malty barleywine pit fruits. Silky smooth mouthfeel. Fantastic barrel aged flavors of whiskey wood. vanilla on a very good pit fruit sweet tart boozy base. Love it.


 jimbowood (950), Athens, Georgia, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/517/20
Jun 1, 2008  
bottle from liquid solutions. This is a nice beer, but doesn’t show the depth of flavors that I was expecting based upon other ratings. Nice maple syrup flavor with not noticable oak or bourbon.


 jrob21 (1257), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/105/58/103/516/20
May 18, 2008  
Sorry MaltOMeal, I couldn’t let this one sit around for long. Thanks for forwarding it on. My only complaint with this one is the big alcohol bit on the back end of the palate. Otherwise it has some huge molasses, port wine, plum, brandy like flavors and aromas. I also have the unfortunate circumstance of comparing this to the most recent Alaskan BW and right now, the Alaskan is the standard to which all else is being compared. In comparison this one holds up well for big bold flavors, but balance and smoothness fall a little short.


 raphael (412), Portland, Oregon, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
May 8, 2008  
Bought this bottle 13 months ago. Dont know how it tastes "fresh", but this one amazing. intense aroma:malt syrup, sherry, brandy soaked plums. Kept a decent head while being a rich translucent garnet. Flavor conyinues with syrup--malt and maple, wood smoke, burnt sugar, black cherry. lays heavy on the tongue like a slippery meal.


 jbuzz (660), South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/516/20
May 8, 2008  
Bottle thanks to blackdonald. This is easily the best Barley Wine I have tried. Malty aroma, dry fruit and alcohol feel. Yet very smooth. I got a hint of apple on the aftertaste.



CONSIDER FREE RATEBEER MEMBERSHIP



Join us! RateBeer is made by beer enthusiasts for the craft beer community. Your basic membership is free and allows you to read all beer ratings. Click here to create your account... and give your opinion!

SIGN UP NOW »

View Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28


About RateBeer | Add A Beer | Log In | Edit Personal Info | 100 Beer Club | FAQ | Feedback?
Copyright © 2000-2009, RateBeer LLC