Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine

Bitter flavor comes with this one. A late sensation of alcohol burn. I had the luxury of sampeling this one on tap preserving the wonderful ceramic bottle I purchased.

Barleywine in name primarily.... and I’m letting this one sit for awhile before making my final judgment. I was SO hoping for more from this one. The new reissue of the ceramic Rogue XS bottles seemed initially appealing. It pours deep muddy-brick with nice dark hues. The nose has an abundance of strawberries (like fresh jam) and caramel/toffee, with a retentive alcohol presence. The flavors, honestly, are unusually dominated by a cedar-spruce hop presence, which combined with the alcohol burn, create a hollow, peppery mouthfeel. As the brew warms, sweet malts begin to open, bringing caramel, toffee, and single-malt scotch forward, along with slightly tart notes (hence the strawberry hearts, per the bouquet). Unfortunately, the Chinook/Centennial presence bitters the mid- to back-palate too much for a purely indicative barleywine. I expected a more syrupy palate, one that lathered the tongue with sugar alcohols. This coats the tongue, but with light spruce and cedar notes, too bitter for the style to be considered a prime example. Again, this feels a bit hollow.... dry overhopping is my final conclusion. It lacks the real malty substance of a divine barleywine (i.e. Rochefort Trappist, J.W. Lees, etc.) to hang with the big boys. Disappointing, unfortunately.

12/22/2006, 12oz 2004 bottle (2 years old now). pours a deep mahogony with small head around the edges. aroma has wonderful BW characteristics. loads of plum, dark fruits, sweet malt, and alcohol. fantastic aroma. mouthfeel is full, flavor of those dark fruits, caramel, light chocolate, still quite hoppy, and finishes with a warming alcohol punch (which loses a few points). can’t wait to try this at 4 years old.8/4/7/4/16=3.9.

12/21/07, 2004 vintage, just a bit over 3 years old. pours murky reddish brown with no head. caramelly aged malt notes off the nose while the flavor is extremely bitter, raw, harsh bitterness that still hasn’t mellowed. the malt base seems to be absent as if the malt base is past its prime yet the hops are preserving what exactly? i can’t see this every coming together but it’s worth seeing if a handful of years will take care of it. the hop bitterness is overshadowing some raisin and caramel malt notes. thin body. i’m not into this at all. 7/3/6/3/12=3.1.

2002 bottle consumed in December 06. Decent aroma with a good look and thin head. Good taste that had a nice malty tatse to it. Hop presence showe but made this pretty smooth and balanced.

Bottle. Nice malty, bonbon, pepper aroma, with a little cream. Cloudy red/brown colour. The flavour is nice and peppery. Quite malty but ends drily. Leaves a tongue-drying bitterness. Late alcohol bitterness. Quite rough. VERY bitter aftertaste.

Ceramic Bottle 660 cl... Deep brown with orange hue and a small yellow/white head. Bitter liqorice, coffee, malt, caramel and cane sugar. Strong bitter beer with alot of alcohol. Needs some year in the cellar!

Ceramic bottle. Light brown fluffy but lasting head. Dark red brown body. Powerful barley malt aroma with a touch of cocoa. Too bad the alcohol is so dominant. Otherwise cocoa flavor.

Thanks to mmmIPA for this one too! I can’t believe this is rated so poorly within its style! I don’t normally care for barley wine, but I thought this was fantastic (goes to show maybe I know sweet F-all about barley wine). Anyway, I couldn’t generate any significant head even with a rigorous pour. Murky raisin brown. Lots of aromas and flavours intermingle-- initially this beer had a pronounced roasted wheat/grain backbone that distinctly made me think of Triscuit crackers (without the salt), along with some pruney fruit and a lick of chocolate. As it warmed up, it became more chocolatey and earthy, with an element of cigar box as well. With every sip I found that I could re-analyze this with pleasure! Complex and very well balanced for such a potent brew. Recommended.