Caskalefan (24), Bellingham, Washington, USA
Jan 27, 2005
Beautiful Barleywine, a perfect cross between the medicinal flavor of an Old Foghorn, and the citric hop sledgehammer of a Bigfoot.
Head pours a generous beige. Nose is caramel, banana, fig and a little raisin, with a slight citric hoppiness. Body is slightly syrupy, but not too thick, and the palate is complex, with caramel, fig/date, mandarin orange, and tangerine, all umderpinned by a candylike (lifesaver) flavor that meshes beautifully with the Cascade hop citrus. Certainly sweet, but in a savory way, well short of cloying, despite the long finish.
A winner, thanks Skip! I owew you somew more absinthe sampling for this one. Continued luck in your relatively new venture...we miss you in Bellingham!
 kp (6200), Woodstock, Georgia, USA
Aug 13, 2008 Name: Barleywine
Date: 07/22/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Trade
Appearance: clear dark ruby red, wispy beige head,
Aroma: rich sweet fruity aroma with a brown sugar sweetness, lots of dark fruit enhanced by dark caramel,
Flavor: rich malt flavor, dark caramel sweetness, lots of fruity character, a bit too much earthy bitterness adds balance but restrains the ripe fruit, light bitter finish, with time the bitterness starts to fade a bit letting the caramel sweetness grow and bring out more of the fruityness,
Overall: should be great with just a year or two of age,
Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: ***/4
Angeloregon (1867), Portland, Oregon, USA
Aug 6, 2008 Bottle pour--Dark deep brown-black pour with a minimal whitish head. Caramel, sticky nose. Sweet, toffee, caramel, not well managed. Hot booziness. Eh.
gunhaver (610), Tampa, Florida, USA
Aug 5, 2008 Bottle courtesy Ibrew2or3. Pours a candy caramel apple brown, with reddish golden highlights and little lacing. Aromas of sweet caramel, pear, some toffee, chocolate, and a nice alcoholic touch. Caramel flavors are front and center, with toasted malts, chocolate, waves of nougat, and rounding out with a nice bitter finish. Medium-bodied, sticky mouthfeel, bitter end balances it out well.
fishingnet (803), Brandon, Florida, USA
Jul 20, 2008 Bottle courtesy Ibrew2or3. Pours a hazy amber with a small light tan head. Aroma is loaded with alcohol and sweet caramel. Taste is alcohol, sweet malt, and caramel. Medium full mouthfeel with a moderate to strong amount of bitterness and hot alcohol. Decent.
Ibrew2or3 (1685), Safety Harbor, Florida, USA
Jul 19, 2008 Rating #1600
Acquired via trade with after4ever. Pours dark brown to copper with a bit of haze and tan head. The aroma is malty sticky sweetness and some medium colored fruity esters. A good dose of alcohol too if the draw goes too long. The taste is sticky malt sweetness blending into fruity esters. Smooth and slick and turning into sugar coated pears along with nice lip smacking residual sweetness. Never gets too warming or hot. Nice stuff.
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