Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine

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

Re-rate – 2002 Vintage – Hazy deep ruby body, small tan head (even after a vigorous pour). Malty caramel aroma. The flavor is massive sweet caramel flavor up front then a good bit of citrus bitter hops. Chewy full body. Given how much the hop flavors stand out it is hard to believe that this beer is over a year old! A good barley wine but there are better to be had. 10/13/03 Rating (7 3 7 3 14) Bottled in 1996 (will re-rate with a new vintage) - Murky orange brown with zero head. Pure malty aroma. Very caramel with some alcohol noticeble. Sweet caramel flavor. Toasted burnt malt also noticeable. Some citrus hop but very little left after all this time. Thick chewy body with alcohol aftertaste.

Bottle sampled with Stegosaurus .Pours brown with a deep beige head. Aroma of alcohol, citrus, roast, and hops. Flavor is alcohol, bitterness, and citrus. I expected more from a style i love, but it is good.

2006 vintage bomber. Slightly hazy dark garnet with smallish head that sort of lasts. Nose is rusty malt with some dark fruits. Taste is peppery malt with some alcohol. Palate is thick and smooth-tingly. This bottle says 11.5% abv. A bit rough, and way overpriced; possibly some more aging would do it well.

Ceramic Bottle with a flip top. Sampled with Beerded_one. Beautiful pour bronze/brown with a large light tan head. Aroma of hops, alcohol, citrus, and a very slight sweetness. Flavor is alcohol, sharp hops that hang until the finish, lacks any sweetness in the flavor. I feel this one was so close to greatness but lacked the finish of sweetness, or carmel, or something i am used to with Barley wines. By the way MrRomero cheers I tip my glass to you.

Bottle (in NZ). Plenty of flavour and hops - but not that dry, lots of sweetness. I got a lot of chocolate flavours from the malt - which only increased in the swallow. I enjoyed and drunk far too easily.

Decent hoppy barleywine with a mish-mash of malty flavors that range from cookie sweet to slighty peated. Hops is everywhere. Actually pretty light for a BW, I didn't notice a bit of the 10+%. Hops again, and in the afterburps...mmmmmm...hops...

The label says 120 IBU’s and I felt like I had to fasten my seatbelt before sipping on what seemed like it was going to be a train wreck. While the first couple of sips did rush to the back of the throat and unleash a citric hop bitterness it really wasn’t as harsh as I had anticipated. A few swirls around the front of the palate reveal the secret to how 120 IBU’s isn’t as big as it seems. There’s plenty of malt in this, that’s sugary with caramel and even chocolate. The malt however is sublime hiding behind the hops and although losing the fight striking a great balance. A world class brew for sure.

Vintage 2004: Huge in your face alcohol slap. Needless to say, very warming and relaxing. Intensely vinous and syrupy. Very prominent fruits...raisins/dates/figs. Burnt brown sugar and molasses. Maybe some espresso in the finish. Obviously a top-quality brew. Some tart astringency in the finish knocked a couple points off.