Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine

Bottle (12oz) at Volo. 2004 vintage. Well, I said I would rerate it and I did. Pours a murky dark ruby with a small diminishing off-white head. Aroma’s quite fruity along with caramel malt, light hops, chocolate, alcohol, toffee, wood and more -- quite nice! Flavour’s also fruity along with plenty of hops and malt, alcohol, wood and a long bitter finish. There’s no question that I liked it, much, much more this time. Whether that’s due to it being aged longer or my tastes changing, or both, who knows? Either way, great stuff.

Old rating: 7.4.6.2.12: 3.1
Bottle shared with HogTownHarry at Bar Volo -- Vintage 2004. Pours a murky dark ruby-brown with a spare off-white head. Slightly sour aroma of sweet malt and alcohol -- lots of alcohol! Flavour of sugar, sweet malt, alcohol, pepper, caramel and hops -- once again the alcohol is most prominent making it overly harsh. The aftertaste is incredibly bitter -- way too much so. This was really hard to drink, I had a hard time finishing half a bottle. Based on some of the other ratings it seems that aging this beer for a year is not enough, this is one to put away for several years. If I ever come across an older bottle I will rerate it.

Bottle (12oz - brewed in 2004). At Volo shared with blankboy. Poured murky copper-red with a thin off-white head. Mild aroma of woody roast malt, a touch of red wine, moderate stale resiny hops, a bit of sour milk. Taste - alcohol, lots of it; very peppery and harshly bitter, caramalized sugar, hops and mild spices - and incredibly long and harshly bitter finish. Mouthfeel very harsh, with a medium-heavy alcoholic body. I wanted to like this one, but throughout my glass it was too aggressive and bitterly unbalanced - it warmed me up, though.

I love this brewery, and thought this one would score around a 4/5. Wow was I wrong. Thick lighter brown body with no head. I mean... a violent pour gave barely any sign of carbonation. Huge hopped out alcoholic aroma. Caramel as well. Something about the aroma felt off balance, and once I tasted it I understood why. Just a really bitter piney hop taste. Anything else noted is alcohol. Finishes bitter alcoholic but at least had a chewy feel. Easily the worst I’ve had from Rogue so far. This one is seems to get very mixed reviews, and for me this was a terrible Barley Wine.

Bottle (courtesy of Okbeer): Poured a cloudy orange/reddish color ale with a medium head with pretty good retention. Aroma of sweet malt and floral/bitter hops mix. Taste is a mix of sweet malt and an incredible amount of bitter hops. In fact, there is just too much hops in this to make it truly enjoyable for me. Body is full and alcohol is also present and provides an enjoyable warming feeling. But in the end, I guess this is just too one-dimensional.

2002 bottle from Onlyfinebeer. Pours a deep, murky red with sparse head. Aroma is heavy on the alcohol, just breathing in the vapours seems to have an effect. Fruity and malty aroma, the hops actually aren’t that apparent in the aroma. Flavours are almost overpowering alcohol, rich malt, insane bitterness and hops, spicy. From the first sips it burns the lips and the back of the throat, but over time the burning alcohol becomes warming, and the beer sweetens up with the yeasty sediment. But overall just too hot for comfort.

bottle. Pours a nice deep red. Huge malts with a bit of caramel and some pine. Thick mouthfeel with plenty of pine, tons of caramel, but also very biting acidic bitterness. This is tough stuff, but nicely complex. Best taken in small doses.

750 ml. bottle. 2005. Deep Amber/brown hazy pour wtih a small tan head that lasts well. Sweet aroma with malt and bread. Malty sweetness predominates early. Full, creamy mouthfeel, although not heavy or thick. Hop flavors and bitterness take over, and an astringent bitterneess that lasts at least 60 seconds after the swallow. It will be interesting to see how this tastes in 1-2 years.. I would expect it too be less harsh. This certainly isn’t a beer for the casual drinker.

GABF 05. Pours a beautful dark brown with an aroma of raisin and yeast. Flavor has a nice raisin bite with a caramel finish. Palate is superbly coating. Another quality brew from Rogue.