Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine

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

Aged just about a year in the 750mL ceramic bottle. Pours a slightly murky orange hued brown with a very thin, spotty mocha head. Aroma is of spicy hops, toffee, chocolate, dark fruits and a good amount of booze, which is to no surprise given the 11.5% abv. There are strong hops that start of with a tang and end with a bitter bite. There is a decent amount of roasted malt and some subdued chocolate. There is a decent amount of dark fruits present in the initial taste, but these flavours are masked by the hoppy bite and alcohol in the aftertaste. This brew is wonderfully complex and intense. The mouthfeel is slick and the carbonation is song and tingly. A real sipper this one is. It probably would have been better id I was just patient enough to age it more.

12 oz bottle, fairly old maybe 02 or 03 courtesy of somebody at the carolina crew gathering, ross help me out here. Flavor was very fruity and mellowy sweet with a linger hop tinge. Dont remember much about this other than I really enjoyed it. Had some of the best barleywines I’ve ever had all in one night!

Ceramic bottle. Pours a coppery color with tan head. Aroma is of caramel malt, toffee, dark fruits and alcohol. Taste is the same but the mouthfeel is a bit dry and more bitter then what I was expecting. The hop profile is decent in this one. However, I feel I paid mostly for the nice ceramic bottle.

Pours a murkey brown, with some head. Some hops are detected. Not to overwhelming, but you know they are there. Hints of fruit, caramel. Some woody flavoring. Finishes rather smooth, with a bitter aftertaste. This one is not as bitter as Sierra Nevadas Bigfoot. Still think North Coasts old stock is best so far.

’02 vintage at opening night of gravityhead. this beer did it like few others. rusted color that was topped with a caramel head. malt, with toffee, pears, caramel and wood? who knows really but i liked it. barleywine used to intimidate me, thanks to the old crusty i understand how could they can be.

Good old crusty. the beer that introduced me to this style. how have i not rated this yet?!?!?! 2002 bottle tasted 3/8/07. pours thick syrupy copper brown with a great tan head with a yellow tint. HUGE aroma. dried fruit nutty caramel toffee chocolate....a lot going on. great alcohol presence that i have come to love and expect from a barley wine. everything is well balanced. sweet syrupy caramel dried fruit flavor with a big spicy black pepper presence. the ghost of piney bitter hops still haunts this one. the flavors have melded well. sweet chocolate toffee finish with nice spicy bitter medium dry woody end. nice alcohol burn. warms you up on a cold winter night. thick syrupy mouth feel. full bodied. this beer is fantastic right now. it is 5YEARS old and drinking great. i need to pick up more of this while it is still available.

3/4/07 Draft @ Stone World Bistro. I’ve been thinking of having this for a while in the big ole expensive ceramic bottles, thsi draft cost me much less. Pours brownish red with no light coming through. The head was pinky height with a nice tan color. The aroma is sweet with notes of dreid fruit, and hops, this nose is huge. This is a big BW, strong, strong and strong. There is some complexity though. Better than the Barleycorn that preceeded this.

One of those cool pottery bottles- Pours a ruby redish color with little to no head. The aroma is cloyingly sweet floral with a touch of berries. The flavor is huge of fruits, sugar, and alcohol. Gotta say not my favorite barley wine, however a solid example.