North Coast Old Stock Ale

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Fort Bragg, California USA

12oz. bottle 2007 vintage. Deep nut brown with a small, fleeting head that leaves a small foam ring. Doughy and dried dark fruit aroma, with a big dose of alcohol. The flavor is fruity and sweet with some earthy tobacco and plenty of sharp alcohol. For its strength, its well done, but the alcohol dominates any other flavors. Thick body with small bubbles. An alright sipper, but a little too hot for me

07 Vintage. Pour out brown and cloudy with a small white head. Chocolate, carmel, molasses and some hops in the nose. Taste has espresso, carmel and hops. Thick and chewy with a little bit of carbonation. Each years vintage seams to bring out new flavors. If you can let one sit and age, the flavors are amazing. I just can’t be that patient.

2008: Score 3.2- a cold pour produces a two finger head that slowly dissipates to a silky canopy and a fluffy ring. A deep copper amber color spills forth creating aromas sweet and herbal. Full nectar w/ good carbonation creating a soft almost creamy texture. Nice! Fat, decadent, and malt driven w/ pounds of deafening sweet molases and caramel w/ a slight bitter up from a peach pit factor. Stone fruit weigh in heavily w/ not much of anything else but some herbs. The finish is cloyingly sweet. ******************- 2007: Score-3.4 / Pours deep dark amber w/ a full, semi creamy froth. Head retention is good w/ decent lacing. Aroma is weak and all I detect is fresh pine greens. Full nectar w/ ample mellow yet explosive residual effers. Alcohol right upfront w/ a sweet malty backbone. Not a complex brew at all. Theres the caramel, cherry fruit, peach nectar, and fresh pine. The finish is bittered moderately w/ a peachpit component and leaves a little alcohol on the tongue. Very warming and potent. ***** 2006: SCORE 4.1 / Pours deep dark amber w/ a shallow froth. Aromas of sweet malt, aged plumb and cherries. Full nectar w/ ample mellow residual effers. Flavors are strong, rich, and sticky sweet w/ a peach pit bittering. Secondary flavors of brandy, tobacco, oak, black cherry, ripe plumbs, caramel, green apricots, citrus rind, celery, and more. Finish has a lingering bitterness that overcomes previous flavors. Not balanced. Alcohol flavors are present. This one will benefit from aging. Very complex. I see the potential but it’s miles away sonny. 2005: SCORE 3.9/ A golden color on the pour with full nectar. Rich, sweet, and creamy. Light in color for it’s genre and real easy to drink. Not as complex as I’d expect from these guy’s. Nice ballance and ready to go. Alcohol is dangerously well hidden .

2003 bottle. Deep reddish brown, thin tan head, fully disappating. Fruity: plums, raisin, fig. Also notes of caramel and toffee. Sweet malts galore with just a hint of hops underneath. Kind of boozy at first, but the alcohol tended to mellow out throughout the bottle. Big, firm body. Solid.

2003 Vintage. Dark mahogany w/ almost no foam & little-to-no-carbonation. Big, malty aroma of dark bread, caramel, dried fruit, orange & brandy. Full-bodied, syrupy feel. Flavour is malty & fruity w/ a warm alcohol presence in the finish.

2002 edition. Lovely aroma of figs, lots of sweetness, dried dark fruits, some melon. Pours a hazy dark red to browinsh body, small tannish head. Nice sweet flavor, candied sugar, good alchol burn and ends rather dry. Very nice barley wine. Thanks a bunch to Dorwart for trading me this gem!

8/30/2006 2006 bottle pours caramel with no head. Beautiful aromas of alcohol and dark fruit. A nice thick mouthfeel that is incredibly smooth for a barley wine. Dark fruits, toffee, and brown sugar and alcohol flavors are balanced. I can’t wait a couple of years to see how it will be. 8/3/8/4/17 = 4.0

’03 - ’07 vertical on 1/18/2008 thanks to a combined effort with drewbeerme and xnoxhatex.
’07 - Clear orange brown with a soapy beige head. Caramels, toffee, alcohol, cherries, red fruit, yeast, and bread in the nose. Alcohol heat is the first thing I notice. Toffee, anise, tar, bread, and maple syrup. The alcohol has a certain pineyness to it that I’ve noticed in fresh hot beers. Much more yeasty and alchy than the others. The alcohol is too much and the yeast character is very strange. 7/4/6/3/14 = 3.4

’06 Pours a clear slightly hazed orange brown with no head. This one is slightly darker than the others. More toffee malts, aged cherries, red fruit aromas. This one is sweeter than most of the others. Alcohol has subsided rather quickly. Toffee cherries, maple syrup, caramel, bread and alcohol are balanced rather well. Nice creamy full body. Becomes a little overly sweet as it warms. But still one of the nicer vintages. 8/3/8/4/16 = 3.9

’05 Pours a slightly hazed orange brown with a soapy beige head that has a greenish tint to it. Nose is abundant but not as good. Caramels, toffee, and a lot more alcohol than its stronger younger 06. Light flavors and light body. Caramels, toffee, anise, alcohol, maple sweetness. Not as good. My least favorite vintage. 6/4/7/3/13 = 3.3

’04 Pours a slightly murky orange brown with a a ring of a beige head. Abundant toffee, rich cherries and ripe fruits. Toffee, caramels, fruit, slightly harsh with the alcohol, tar, anise, oak, and earthiness. Body feels thinner. But a good vintage. 8/3/8/3/16 = 3.8

’03 Pours a murky orange brown with a wispy off white head. Aged malts in the nose. Toffee cherries, maple, tobacco, dark fruits. Full creamy body even at almost 5 years. Caramels, toffee, dark fruit, anise, earthy. Slight vegetal notes. Rich and flavorful. Really nice. This one was my favorite. 8/3/8/4/17 = 4.0

Pours a fairly dark color for Barley Wines, at least in my experience. The aroma is mostly sweet malts and fruits. Peaches, plums, raisins, brandy, others. The flavors are not quite as complex. The alcohol is strong, the flavors are strong. An interesting and different Barley Wine, but a good one, nonetheless.