North Coast Old Stock Ale

2007 draft at the brewery’s restaurant in Fort Bragg on 09Jul2007. Pours a nice brown color with a nice creamy head. Smells of sweet malt, vanilla, and alcohol. Taste is of sweet malty, toasted, vanilla, caramel, Warm presence of alcohol hits then the round out of a nice (light compared to the malt) bite of hops. Finishes smooth but the alcohol becomes more aparent the more you drink. Good beer.

2006 bottle (12 oz.). At 13.25% abv, this may be the strongest beer I have tried to date. Rich, classic sweet barley wine aroma: chocolate-covered cherries, raisins, and a hint of oranges as well as some smokiness. Aroma reminiscent of a merlot or port. Pours a slightly hazy mahogany with a golden / amber hue. Glows a brilliant burnt orange / red when held up to the light. Small to moderate amount of short-lasting, thick, tight, yellowish-tan head. Produces limited, brief lacing. Dark pitted fruit sweetness dominates the initial taste. A little too sweet for my tastes. Cherry, plum, pepper, and molasses flavors. Alcohol obvious in the taste. Dry, spicy, bitter finish appears to derive from the high alcohol content rather than the hops. Sweet fruit aftertaste. Full body. Sharp in the palate from surprisingly lively carbonation and alcohol. Easy to drink for such a thick and high-alcohol ale. I don’t get the cognac aroma or flavors that many others have mentioned. Actually, I sense more of a rum-like taste. I think that oak-aging could benefit this beer, as the wood would complement the existing flavors and add a bit of character (as well as actually impart a brandy-esque quality). Admittedly, a sunny summer Saturday is probably not the best time to drink this brew. If I had tried this on a cold winter night instead, I venture that I would have enjoyed it more. Old Stock Ale is a quality beer and well worth a try, but there are better strong barley wines out there.

2005--Huge soft white head that slowly fades to about a half a finger’s width. The nose is one of a typical European barley wine --all malt. A sweetness builds, but i will have to say it is muted compared to when I had this same brew in the winter of 2005, just before Christmas. At the front end it has a burnt caramel/fruit that just is the perfect strength. There is some bitterness here, but the malt is king in this brew. This is much better with age. I let this one sit for two years, and I don’t think it will get any better. 06--it gets even better. It is not over the top sweet, and the alc is hidden well. It does have a hefty body, with moderate bitterness. There is sweetness with a toffee like and mild nuttiness to it.

2007 bottle. Deep brown ale with upfront astringency, this never is too much thou thanks to heavy sweetness of malts and dark fruits; oh and its mildly balanced w/ hops. An awesome barley wine with a complex mouth feel. This WILL be bought again.

12 oz bottle - 2007 - orange coppery color with a thin offwhite head....alcohol, malts and spice aroma...strong alcohol taste with malts and caramel...some hops in the finish...alcohol taste is a little too much for me ...

Bottle of pre 2006. Dark redbrown with a small white head. Aroma of bread and wine, sweet. Raisin. Alcohol tends to dominate after a while, it is 11.4 % afterall. Maybe some smoke in it?

Bottle 2007 vintage. Pours deep ruby color with dark off-white head. Aroma is red and port wine scents, grain, faint resiny hops, syrupy berry scent and light notes of milk chocolate. Flavors - chewy dried fruit, mellow port wine, some earthy notes. Overall, the flavor is a little too sweet for me. Full, creamy palate. Aftertaste is mainly a light alcohol sting. Incredible and unique.

This one really burns my cheek & throat. A lot of sweet - dark fruits - prune & raisin. Good amount of hops and warming & clearly visible alcohol. A true sipper - but again almost too powerfull. Medium body - sticky texture.