Midnight Sun Arctic Devil Barley Wine

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Anchorage, Alaska USA

2007 bomber, pours a cloudy dark burgundy brown with a thin tan head, minimal spotty lacing. Aroma is very diverse and pleasant - pear, apple butter, plum, raisin, fig and light oak and caramel cream, with a gentle spice presence as well. Loads of good stuff and lots going on! Flavor is malty barleywine goodness, with dark fruits, spice, vanilla, oak and brown sugar, with a touch of alcohol showing itself. A great experience relatively fresh, and see A LOT of potential as it ages.

Pours a very dark mahogany with a caramelized white head. Lots of fruits in the aroma with apples, figs, berries, plums, and other dark fruits. Quite a bit of alcohol in the nose as well but works well in this winter warmer of a barleywine. Flavors of dark cane sugar/brown sugar with molasses, fruits, lots of creamy malty backbone to the finish of this beer. A decent amount of alcohol in the flavor profile as well. A really good brew, that screams with potential to age.

22 oz. bottle - pours dark brown and very cloudy; thin tan head around the edges; aromas of sweet dates/figs moving towards obvious hints of alcohol; pleasant mix of flavors keeps the alcohol well masked; mix of vanilla, brown sugar, fruit and caramel; very sugary and creamy texture; you can feel the high ABV, but no taste of it

Vintage 2007; this one simply bursts with the potential to age, but it was simply too enticing on this cold night. Rich, murky mahogany pour. Varnish with a beige cream. Aroma eases into the richest of malts with soft creme brulee, moist gingerbread and rum bread pudding, nuanced by a bright cantaloupe and caramelized pear overtone that is at once relaxed and searingly assertive. Soy sauce with some musty cut grass and graham cracker lend some tangential saltiness and aged sentiment. Blasts of toffee and dirty barrel. This is an aroma to contemplate, thoroughly and slowly. Taste brings a stinging but soft bourbon quality of eggnog and tender vanilla, overlaying a syrup of strawberry, raspberry and watermelon seed; hot, but pleasantly so, with a lot of burnt sugar and raw barrel earthiness. So big, brash, and uncompromising in its impenetrable, pristine and artful collage of malt; cherry skins, caramel, toffee, dates. Full bodied, warm, and wet with the intimations of brandy and port barrels in the mouth, giving an understated and well placed scrape of soft carbonation on the back of the throat at the end; finishes warmly with a peppery, curtailed touch of alcohol in sherry form. An extraordinary, pleasingly malt dominant, careful, and quintessential example of this so often overkilled style. Glory. Thanks Tim!

2005 vintage bottle shared by Jason. This is an awesome beer! Pours to a hazed over dark chestnut body with an ultra thin off-white head. The aroma is absolutely amazing. Flaked barley and super caramelized Maris Otter? Liquid toffee, caramel, perfect malts. The flavor is insanely caramelized toffee, clean barley, nice lingering muted hops. Very beautifully aged. I wonder what a fresh one would taste like. The palate is rich and creamy, aged sherry but every so slight. Sweet and full bodied.

2005 bottle thanks to Tim!! Poured clear, deep garnet with just a ring of tan headage sticking around. The aroma had a delightful oak, bourbon, and vanilla presence over dark fruit and cararmel at the base.. everything blended together well, and the age managed to mellow it out a bit. The flavor had drawn caramel and lots of warm dark fruits on the syrupy core with hefty, yet well-integrated barrel accents all around (and interlaced).. very sweet finish with the fruits, vanilla, and bourbon rocking the finish.. great stuff! Thick and syrupy on the palate with a light herbal bitterness and alcohol warmth (but nowhere near as much as I expected).. long finish was a bit dry. This was most excellent!

Many thanks to Jason for this wonderful treat! Wow, the aroma - Notes of alcohol, sweet caramel, oak and pinot noir. Flavours of a sweet sticky goodness with plenty of barrel aging for an added layer of complexity. Nice kettle caramelization and the emphasis is definatley on a dominant malt presence. A bit fusel overall and could probably be toned down a bit. A great English inspired barley wine.

Darkest barleywine i’ve seen in a while. kp’s review said it best so i’m not even going to say any more.