Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine

2006 Poured from a 750ml ceramic into a pint glass. A good inch of thick, tan head that just would not quit--half way through and I still have a small layer of foam. Winter has robbed me of all my olfactory skills, but the rich aromas of citrus and caramel comes through. Taste is just stunning; by far my favorite BW. Lots of hops and the associated bitterness balance perfectly a tremendously malty beer that clings to the palate with a viscosity that is out of this world. This beer has a definite beginning, middle, and end: bitter spruce , creamy caramel with some grapefruit, and then a final, lingering, but oh-so-satisfying warm burn. Not for the tame of heart, but I must say after drinking many draft glasses of the 2007 Crusty, the recommended year yields a much smoother beer.

on tap at Summits in Cumming, GA. This is an excellent American BW.... one of my new favorites... I’m glad I have a ceramic bottle of this stuff in my cellar. Full of hops! A very dark reddish color... huge thick body, quite chewy.... excellent over the tongue... really strong and lasting bitter finish.

2007 from ceramic bottle. Pours a deep mahogony which glows a rich red through the light. The lacing is really amazing on this beer. There is a ring for every sip I took lined up down the glass. Nose is sweet and piney. Taste is heavy pine with notes of molases to smooth it out. Flavor ends with a nice lingering pine bitterness. Time will do this one well for balance.

draft @ portland public house - 2007 edition; again served in a monster goblet; dark orange with slight head and lots of haze; lots of spice in the aromas and mixed with some hops, a little sugar and alcohol; flavors pack a mouthful and drinks a little harsh; not quite my style of BW, but could use some time to mellow and even out

On tap at Zeno’s Pub - State College, PA. Aroma glows in a really intricate and developed fruitiness carried by a fragrant hop glow. Here the hops take on a new form, in bold spiced fruits, suave cologne perspective, and savory assumptions. There’s a notable estery character, but lots of giant hop presence. Smells great and evolves with a warming temperature. Looks inviting, with a deep ruddy-brown glow, as if a darkened ruby, shrouded with dripping shawls of heavily cloaking khaki satin. Flavor develops a lot of complexity. The hops merge with intense malt, alcohol, and yeast products, all tasting pretty good if not hot and harsh from the hops. This is to be expected. Turpentine-like as the brewer describes.There’s a palpable bubble-gum quality to the ester profile that actually isn’t detracting, instead it’s really refined and maturely fruity, adding to the depth already brought by the hop profile, which is rather destructive. Downfall is alcohol heat and biting bitterness. I cannot imagine how delicious this will be in two years. I would love to try some sufficiently aged. It’s obvious the hop profile is overly complex and will develop nuance as some of the raging overtones die down with time. Very interesting.

July 2006 - Well, split the bomber with my dad. His half had a beautiful head, mine had none. His had lacing, mine had none. He got the "top" half. Anyway, aroma and flavor was caramel sweetness with piney hops. Really, really hoppy, but lots of malt to balance it out. A "big" beer in every sense of the word. A little too bitter for my liking, but a solid, solid beer, nonetheless.

Had this beer in the Rogue X bottle, which has an ABV of 11.5% and is slightly higher than the current listing with the old bottle. One of the more intense barley wines I’ve had. Complex aroma of alcohol, grapefruit, darker sugar, sweet malts. Not much in the way of hops, although if you smell it long enough, you can detect some hop resin. The dark and roasted malt flavors and somewhat shut out by the almost overwhelming bitterness from the hops...you can definitly taste the 110 IBUs. In some barley wines the intense hops are balanced out by the incredible amounts of malt used, by Rogue comes up a bit short here. A decent barley wine, but not worth the price to buy again.

So I’ve had many Barleywines in my day and this one is a bit harsh when compared to others. Aging definitely would do this beer a world of good!!! Sharp bitterness and sweet malts combat one another and unfortunately, neither wins. It seems to be an unfocused mixture of flavors. At $16/bottle...I would expect exquisite. "Under promise, over deliver" has always been a motto of mine. This, however, is the opposite.