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Midnight Sun Arctic Devil Barley Wine

Percentile
99
overall

bottled
common

on tap
available

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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?  
 savnac (416), Palmer, Alaska, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/103/517/20
Apr 16, 2009  
22oz bottle from 2008. Aroma of caramel, molasses, and even a hint of oaked red wine. Dark amber in color with little to no head. The taste is sweet, there are rich caramel, toffee, and dried fruit flavors mixed with slightly more mellow oak and alcohol flavors. This is a full bodied beer with a thick syrupy mouth feel and has low carbonation. Overall an enjoyable beer, very sweet and strong, I recommend sharing a 22oz’er with someone. This one will definitely get better with age.


 Tweety (343), Vancouver, Washington, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/56/103/514/20
Apr 14, 2009  
Pours a little bit darker than you usually will get from a barley wine, but still there’s the cloying sweetness under the surface, and that’s just too much for me.


 Hank1980 (744), Athens, Georgia, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/104/517/20
Apr 12, 2009  
Bottle from 2008. Pours a dark cloudy brown with a small head. Aroma of big malt, caramel, toffee, wood. Taste is also very malty, with a warming toffee finish. Really a nice balance for a big brew. Wood isn’t really very obvious. A lot of the flavors are similar to an imperial stout. Really nice.


 BeerBunker (607), Burbank, Illinois, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/103/517/20
Apr 2, 2009  
220z bottle from 2007. Pours murky brown with minimal tan lacing. Aroma is of malt, chocolate, spice, alcohol, caramel, and wood. Taste is of malt, chocolate, spice, dark fruit, and caramel. Has a delicious bourbon woodiness underneath everything that balances out all the malt and grassy earthiness. A tad too much chocolate to the beer, but everything else is well balanced. Body is medium and has medium carbonation. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy. Alcohol is present and very warming. Very drinkable given the abv and all the heavy flavors. Very tasty.


 buzzoven (333), Japan
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/58/104/515/20
Apr 1, 2009  
Medium smell of pine, burnt sugar, coffee and toffee on the nose. Colour was really a thick opaque mahogany with a little light piercing the murk. Poured with a pretty good head that dissipated into a small swirl within minutes. Taste contained varying degrees of complexity that differed between the two pints that I had. Some cloves, Scotch, Oaked Arrogant Bastard-like spiciness, flavour of candied yams, fruits, grapes, vanilla presence very prevalent. Not a bad drink at all. Label said 10%, the sticker said 14%...but my head tells me to go with the sticker. Purchased this at Tanakaya liquor store in Meijiro for a surprisingly cheap price of around 1300 yen. Hope they still carry this into the winter time because this would be a great winter warmer/blizzard buddy.


 fidel (921), Livermore, California, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Mar 18, 2009  
Thanks AgentSteve. Poured dark mohogany, dark fruits, molasses, alcohol, caramel, wood, little vanilla.


 AgentSteve (1374), SF Bay Area, California, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/59/104/518/20
Mar 18, 2009    Updated: Oct 25, 2009
Pours deep, opaque mahogany with a ring of a cream colored head. Huge nose of deep fruits, toffee, molasses, alcohol and barrel. Flavor about as big as the nose, with lots of heat standing out, but subsiding to let through the dried fruits, toffee and cognac like flavors. Creamy on the palate. Huge beer.


 KAggie97 (2427), Ugly, Hot, and Humid Spring, Texas, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/104/518/20
Mar 17, 2009  
Bottle from Zinister at February Houston Tasting. Thanks, Mike! Pours a deep, thick, chunky amber with an aroma of bready raisin plumb coated with sugar. Flavor is butterscotch molasses raisin syrup. Thick and chewy mouthfeel. Fantastic. Would make for great sippin’ while watchin’ the Northern Lights.



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