Rock Bottom Yorktown Solemn Oath Solemn Oats

Brewed by Rock Bottom Yorktown
Style: Barley Wine
Lombard, Illinois USA

Serve in Snifter

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Just finally found my notes from the March tasting. Let’s get them in before I lose them again. <em>Can I get an A-Men?</em> A solid, alcoholic barley wine smell. Slight hang of Belgian lace on the sides of the glass. Cloudy gold color. The taste is smooth, with an impression of slightly diluted honey. The oats just help make it that much smoother. A backburn of Pacific hops on my uvula. Fizziness is more spread out, to leave room for a slightly syrupy texture. The fact that this is making me buzzed is merely understood, rather than directly experienced.

Draft on tap at the brewpub (Lombard, IL). Pours a rich hazy amber gold pour. A bit darker with big frothy caley offwhite head. Laces well, sticks around as a firm layer, good deep haze. Aromas are big citrus, oranges and lemons meet with firm biscuit and bready malts, grain, gentle sweetness. Dry florals, gentle yeast, spice, oats. Lots of oranges, Mandarin oranges, rind, and grapefruit as it warms. Touches of cotton candy. Initial is medium bodied, a touch fuller with rich citrusy hops, grapefruit and cotton candyu, oranges come in by the case full. Mandarin oranges, lemons, florals. Firm sweet malt body is covered by a boatload of hops, with a bunch of citrusy grapefruit. A bit sharp, grapefruit juice tang into the middle as the back and finish end up citrusy and sweet, a bit more firm on malt body. The lacing is very nice. This reminds me of a Pete Crowley DIPA that isn’t up to snuff.. Too sweet for my palate and proof that Jess loves it puts it over the edge (she hates hops and bitterness). As an Oatwine, it’s solid.. Firm sweetness and rich hop presence mingle. A very nice beer and rich citrusy hop presence as a representative of the style.

UPDATED: JUL 27, 2012 In attendance at the tapping extravaganza for this Oatwine, and served to a footed ale glass with the cloudy appearance of apricot nectar, white, creamy head foam that reduced rather quickly to a ring & film, and showed wavey cling to the lacing. The aroma was initially a fresh blast of citrusy grapefruit, and tropical fruit hints, followed by some dank graininess. The flavor included substantial malt, and a lingering, full palated, rind-like, earthy hop bitterness, and an escalation of alcohol warmth as the sipping continued. Medium to full bodied, this brew was young, but "upstartingly" potent. Worth all the work by Davin & Tim! Looking forward to sampling this down the road as it matures. The last keg went on tap during the Grampfenpils Tapping at RB Yorktown, so I had to make good on my follow up. Same deceiving, hazed, orange/gold color, as the flavor and alcohol content had mellowed but remained very potent. +.1