Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine

This is a barleywine. No doubt about it and a very good barleywine! High hops, very sweet, very high ABV but smooth. Almost akin to a smooth whisky. Lots of action going on with the flavor but I could note some chocolate, molasses, caramel then as it went down you get the blast of hops. It lets you know you aren’t drinking some wussy lager, that’s for sure.

Bottle at The Map Room. Bottled in 2004. Pours a deep mahogany with a filmy head. Tough to pin this one down. Lots of alcohol and big hops. Seems a little one-sided with not enough malt to balance things out. I think this would get a much higher rating if it were not so astringent. Still good just not great.

Poured a cloudy deep red/brown with no head. Complete withe the trademark barleywine aroma. The taste was sweet, robust, tart with a medium to heavy body. Excellent, but not for every day.

12oz bottle, 2001 bottling. poured w/ a slight tan head...brown/ruby hued beer. tough to see any bubbles. head falls quickly. Aroma of alcohol, resin, madeira...oxidized. Not a particularily enjoyable nose...definately strong amd wicked though. The pug really wants this beer! Mouthfeel is syrupy. It is very tough to overcome that aroma though...even as I try to sip it, my nose is filled with hot oxidized resin. I try holding my breathe and drinking...its actually a little tougher than I thought! Same result...bitter, resin, syrup, oxidized...just clumps of unattractiveness through together. Maybe an old crustacean does taste like this, I dunno, don’t want to know. Anybody want my remaining 2 bottles? This stuff is rough...the only redeeming factor is the sweetness of the malt coming through, tasting like a bit of pineapple, cantalope, and cherry coated in thick carmelized sugar syrup...odd mix but it works. Still, I must wince w/ almost every sip, and I think that I have done this w/ this beer since I bought it 4-5 years ago (I believe I bought a case in Boulder and have slowly worked my way through it). I should find one more fresh to give it some better notes, but my latest impressions make me wonder why bother? Bigfoot is more readily available and much more enjoyable for me. I’d really rather be drinking Kellerbier right now anyway! Or something w/ a little finese.

Pours a deep, cloudy brown with hints of red ... no head to speak of. Very aromatic: sweet, rich malty nose with sweet fruits and an alcoholic tinge. Rich in flavor as well, sweet and malty with a major hop presence that leaves a pleasant bitterness behind. Excellent.

12 oz. bottle from Whole Foods, Columbus, Ohio; $2.99. Murky, very dark reddish brown; rather small but very frothy head. Monstrous aroma: Hugely malty with a lot of alcohol fumes; a light sharp sweetness that is actually overshadowed by the alcohol. Flavor is explosive but unfortunately nondescript; hugely malty, packed with tons of hops. Very thick, very frothy, and very sticky. One of the chewiest barleywines I have had yet. This is rather cloying, and 12 oz. is more than enough for me. At first I felt bad for not being able to discern many flavors from such a big beer, but reading through the reviews, I really don’t see many diverse descriptors of this beer; what it comes down to is this beer is big, heavy, malty, and loaded with alcohol. But I like it!

Bottled 2002 vintage - courtesy of Gromit - many thanks. A dark brown coloured beer with no head or lacing. The aroma is very strong and warming. Lots of alcohol together with notes of nail polish and flowery hops. The taste is big, bold and brash. Very fruity but in a boozy fruit way rather than a sweet berry flavour. Warming alcohol, malts and hops. Luxurious milky chocolate. Typical US barleywine very sippable and a great nightcap..

Thanks to BuckDich for this treat! 2004 Vintage: Looks: Like you poured cola in a glass that you just drank milk in without rinsing it first. Has a foamy tan head that quickly fades to a ring at the edge of the glass and a few small islands of bubbles in the middle. Scent:Thick chewy malts, prunes, shoyu, citrus fruit, the hops don’t strike me as bracing like some have described. Taste: Very thick & syrupy sweet. Hops much more prominent in the flavor (than in the aroma) but still not as industrial strength as you would think, though much more potent in the follow and aftertaste. Flavor is thick malt, caramel, prunes, grapefruit rind. The only negatives; a bit of a plastic taste and a cloying sticky feel but at over 10%, It’s almost expected. I like most Barleywine and this is no exception. That being said, I’d still prefer a 2-3 y/o Bigfoot.