North Coast Old Stock Ale

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

2003 Vintage: A red-hued, brown head on a deep-colored, reddish brown body. Strong barleywine aroma. Saturated Saturation. As much of everything as possible. It is not layered in complexity, but in-your-face to the point I feel if they added one more pound of malt or one more ounce of hops the beer would collapse upon itself. Flavor is not like the aroma entirely. The high alcohol lightens and elevates the palate, making it dangerously drinkable (it is not a hot alcohol though). The beer is big malt with just some acidity and hop flavor balancing but mainly on the roof of the mouth. This leads into hops and malt flavor equalizing but competing with the unyielding, drying, mildly astringent alcohol then finishing with the taste of a fresh baked, molten, chocolate brownie. This is a summary of my overall impression of this beer, but it does not do it justice. Every taste from the glass changed like a chameleon with new complexities rearing their head then repressing themselves with the next taste. My best analogy would be that of a perfectly grilled hamburger where all of the components: cheese, lettuce, tomato, and burger, are all in perfect balance but maybe the next bite the cheese is just a little thicker in that spot but it still tastes wonderful...wonderful but different. A great way to finish the evening.

Damn! Now we’re talking. First off I did not check the alcohol content until after I drank this. I was stunned when I saw this was 11.4%. I never even noticed since I was really blown away by how smooth, gentle, and warming this ale was. It has incredible depth and really has one of the best sweet malt tastes I have had. I feel this blows away Old Rasputin. Also, it has great smell and apperance. An excellent choice, I am extremely pleased, this was an awesome ale.

Bottle from Haggen in Beaverton, OR, which is the only place I’ve ever seen it. This is hands down a great barely wine, lots of malty sweetness. Pours dark copper with a half inch head (I was hoping for more). Good lacing. Strong aroma with dark sweets, I would say some old brown sugar and subtle vanilla for some reason, which surprised me. At 11.4%, I was wondering how well they would be able to hide the alchohol, but leave it to North Coast, they have great brewing skill. The only thing that was overly pronouced in this barleywine was its balanced mouthfeel and flavor. Lots of deep sweetness which made this winter night feel nice and cozy. Alchohol burn hits at the very end, lingering on the tongue. Great brew, must try.

2004 Vintage  Pours a near-opaque, rich ruby/vermillion with nigh a head except for a thin, white halo. Juicy, caramel aroma, mostly malts with a lick of alcohol and plenty of dark fruits and caramel. (Intoxication intensifies exponentially as it warms.) "Oh my," I actually proclaim as I taste this one. Rich and wooden with the alcohol seriously penetrating, the flavor also finds vinous notes, deep veins of caramel and sweet baked goods... it’s like being a child again, finding delicious treats in the strangest of places! A thick, syrupy, warming palate rates a "4" until I take into account the soft shroud of drunkeness that blankets me. Perfect.

Gene, you can keep your Old Horizontal... I’ve found a BarleyWine worthy of my time ("floor-malted Maris-Otter Malt" my ASS).

<font size=-4>Purchased at <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Chicago, IL 60638<font size=-1>

2002 Edition: One of my longtime favorites, this beer will go into a tulip. The head is much more subdued than my previous bottles from this year. The half inch head quickly fades to nothing. The body is transparent only when held to a light source, and even then one must be quite close to the glass. The nose is malty and vinous. Slight vanilla and raisins are detected. This baby is in its prime. The malts are complex. I really cannot pick any individual flavor out of this. The malt is somewhat roasty, with dark fruits as well. The finish is dry, almost like I am drinking Cabernet. Must be the remnants of the hops. The mouthfeel is thick, but not coating as I imagine it once was. Even if there was a hint of the 11.4% ABV, this would be extremely drinkable. Time has been good to this, as the alcohol is buried deeply within this one. I cannot find any more recent vintages of this one in Indy. There seems to be plenty of this one, though. I give a three for appearance because of the enormous head on every other occassion that I drank this one. I will edit this the next time I pop one. Edit: My glass might have been slightly dirty the last time. This time, I get the nice head I am accustomed to from this one. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 07-21-2005 06:33:38

Delicious, brown color, murky, alcohol tingles the tongue. Oxidation is present but so is a very awesome brandy flavor. I swear I tasted cognac! Good stuff but watch out cause it can really kick your ass.

Pours clear mahogany with a medium smallish head. No lacing. Aroma of booze and figs. Flavor is sweet, but not cloying. Malt profile is a real treat with some dried fruit and candy flavors. Could use maybe a touch more hop bitterness, but I give it a couple extra points for the amazing ABV burn it leaves down the back of the throat. Very nice! It will be interesting to see how this one ages.

"they jacked up the abv to 13% in 2006, which i didn’t think was necessary...til i tried it. holy crap was it good. back near the top of the style over the last 3 years. on the malty side, which isn’t to say that there is a lack of hops...there is just such a huge sweet caramel malt taste that the hops barely make it through. GREAT beer!!"