Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine

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

Opaque blackish red with a big dense tan head. Aroma is not spectacular, but has a hint of pineapple. Taste is roasty, bitter and astringent. $14/750ml

Bottled. Vintage 2006. Pours out in very hazy brown appearance with a low off-white head. Big and bold citrousy aroma with strong notes of earth and resin. Thick flavour which starts quite sweet at first of light chocolate, mature cherries, dried fruit, fudge and raisin but is overshadowed by a huge bitter hopflavour of grapefruit and grass (110 IBU’s, your’re not kidding...). Finishes extremely bitter of grass and grapefuit and earth.

Thick oily dark brown/amber color. Complex and huge, well hopped and well balanced. Good Barley wine On draught at Rogue Pub Portland, OR.

Vintage 1997 7oz Bottle: Ten years old and held up very well. Beautiful amber pour with a short lived deep tan head. Beautiful aroma of roasty sweet caramel/toffee malt, maple notes, raisins and dates with a light hop touch. The flavor is well hopped, and I’m surprised it’s still this robust after ten years of aging. Deep malt character backs the solid bitterness. Early toffee and raisiny notes followed by a prolonged spicy dryness. There’s evident piney oak characteristics with some sage and peppery spicyness in the nicely hopped finish. There’s also a subtle mint character as well. The finish is long and complex. This is a solid barley wine, and my favorite offering from Rogue so far.

Ceramic bottle. Pours a hazy amber-brown with a yellowish head. Sweet and fruity aroma with notes of chocolate and raisins or prunes (can’t really decide). A bit cloying. Flavour is sweetish and fruity. Alcohol. Again raisins or prunes. Bitter fruity finish with lots of hops – haven’t had that in a barley wine before. Barley wines aren’t usually my thing, but this was nice – especially because of the hops. 27-01-01.

Pours a murky brown, with less than a quarter inch of light tan head. The foam dies back to a thin ring and a bit of film - not even covering the top of the glass. Minimal lacing - and that may be an overestimation. Bold malty anad alcoholic aroma. The taste is less sweet than the aroma suggests, in fact it is actually on the dry side for a barleywine. I taste coffee, dried currant, and lots of dry roasted grain. There is a pungeant spicy bitterness in the finsh and aftertaste. Full bodied, low carbonation.

bottle dated 1998. aroma is of caramel, mouthfeel is thick, and bitter. flavour is all sweet malt, and caramel, and bitterness. big bitter finsih. nice stuff.

Bottle. Red-brown. Strong aroma. Dark fruits, raisins, some yeast. Flavor: Malt sweetness and bitter. Some wormwood.