Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: Barley Wine
Newport, Oregon USA

Bottle. Dark amber colour with a small off white head. Powerful malty aroma and taste with notes of spice and fruits. Some bitterness in the finish.

750mL 2008 bottle poured into a snifter. Pours a murky brownish amber with hints of red around the edges. The bubbly off-white head is one inch thick and recedes pretty slowly to a thick ring leaving decent lacing. The aroma was surprisingly hoppy up front with lots of citrus and some floral pine hints as well. The caramel malt base is present but not as dominant as I expected. Some raisins and plums come out as the beer warms. The taste started out with the some hop kick, mostly grapefruit and other citrus. The sweetness of the caramel malt and some dark fruits are present in the middle before the floral hops turn on the bitterness in the finish with a good bit of alcohol heat. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and oily with decent carbonation. Overall it’s a bit more abrasive than I imagined, but I should have expected as much from a fresh bottle. It’s good now but I’m going to age a couple of these for a while as I know a couple of years will make this one much better. 7/3/7/3/14 Tasted the 03 and 04 in a side-by-sde recently and was impressed with the way this one had ages. The abrasive hops and alcohol had calmed a good bit and really rounded this one into a fine barleywine. 8/3/8/4/16

Draft @ Coles Buffalo NY. Intense!!!! Deep boozy aroma. Dark fruit, raisins, pine. Big intense taste. Booze, rich, deep malts, hop bitterness. Without a doubt a sipper.

2004 bottle. Imagine, carythedude didn’t want this. Deep red opaque pour with a tan head that clings to the glass. Aroma of deep, dark fruits and hops. Flavor is fruity and slightly bitter, but mostly excellent. An absolutely sublime ale to bring in the new year. With age, the booze has worked itself into the malt for a great balance for a 11.5% beer. An absolute treat.

Crushed with Jakebra at the disdain of Honkeybra. Big time hops nose with dark fruits, raisins, plums, and awesomeness bringing up the back. Flavor is a rush, and the finish is a big rush of bittering hops that mellows. Little boozy, but so fuckin what?

Bottle. Pours a clear dark amber with a small off-white head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of caramel, sweet malt, citrus and pine hops, dark fruit, and a touch of alcohol. Taste is the same as aroma with the hops being very forward. Medium full mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness and smooth alcohol. Very good.

Draught at McGlaughlins in Kyoto. Amazingly complex nose with melon, citrus, hops, caramel, pine, and lots more. First sip and I was blown away by burning hops and not much more, but after my tongue adjusted to them and the beer opened up, there was great malt flavor, caramel, toffee, dark fruits. This was great. Love that evil looking cloudy red appearance as well.

750ml ceramic bottle, I think 2006 vintage but may be 2007. I thought the 2007 actually had that noted on the bottle, and this is at least 1-1.5 years old, but not sure what year they started using these stupid ceramic bottles. Anyway, pours a nice looking clear dark, dark amber, with a frothy one finger dark tan head, moderate retention and minimal lacing. Aroma is a pleasant blend of malty dark fruits, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, and toffee. Flavor is sweet malts, citrus hops, and more dark fruits, caramel, and toffee. I found this to be very enjoyable, but doubt Id pay for this obnoxious, wasteful, expensive ceramic bottle again. Why cant they just put this in 12oz. bottles?