4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Nice big tan head. Rich Caramel color. This has a great sweet smooth taste with a good amount of hops. Despite the high alcohol content I notice no alcohol flavor or aroma.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
This is some high octane stuff. Body is just a little less thick, not thin, but just less thick than I like in a high gravity beer. Alcohol and sweetness on the finish.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
A nice malty presentation. Light head and aroma. Hops do not predominant. A smooth brew.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
2001 - Aroma is initially very malty, as it warms the alcohol burns the nose. Small thick head that gradually diminishes. Caramel and toffee sweetness in the flavor. Slightly cloying mouth feel. Finishes fairly dry, with a slight warming alcohol. As it warms, the hops come out a bit more in the flavor and finish.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
2001: Not too lively on the pour, scarlet red color. One quick whiff tells me this is a barley wine with lots of malt oozing from the bottle, plum/ raisin fruitiness and no real hoppiness. Relatively light but oily palate slips through pretty easily. Sweet red apple flavors, a little white wine-ish. Slight woody notes towards the end while a little hop bitterness just sours lightly in the finish. Rounds out a little syrupy and fruity. Not crazy about this one but I have 3 more and will check it out again in a few months.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
2001 bottling: An exemplary old ale. Fruity nose--black cherries prunes. Little to no head. Sweet, somewhat malty body, with some caramel and tofee flavors. Just a touch of bitterness. Alcohol is well hidden. Great, well-balanced beer.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
I just bought the 2001 version so
this has not had a chance to age much.
No head whatsoever. Seems a little
incomplete compared to the 2002 version
of Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot Barley. Will have to
re-rate in about six months.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
You have to acquire a taste for these barely wines...I will have too. Not much head, very sweet flavors, nice deep color, an heavy alcohol punch.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Apple tones (Granny Smith), lots of bitterness and almonds
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 17/20
Didn’t know what to expect from this one at all. Aroma is sweet, almost like molasses. The head is very small, almost nonexistent in my glass, but the color is a nice deep amber. The taste is totally intense---sweet, almost cloying at times, with lots of malt and some hops too, but not as much as I expected. In that respect, this reminds me more of a concentrated Fuller’s Vintage rather than something like Old Foghorn. In other words, I wouldn’t know this was a barley wine unless someone told me. I expected much more hops here, especially given the commercial description. I love the taste, but yet I don’t. To be honest, it reminds me of cough syrup---the strong, alcohol-based kind. I don’t mean that in a bad way, believe it or not. In this mixture, it works, at least to a large extent. There isn’t any really hoppy bitterness in this except a brief, sharp moment before the alcohol takes over and numbs everything. It only becomes sweeter as it warms, and a bit more viscous. I like it...alot...or maybe it’s the alcohol talking from the bottle I just finished, but I definitely have not tasted anything quite like it before. An acquired taste, to be sure.
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