Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine

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

2002 bottle: Carmel with ouzo. Hazy orange brown color. Chocolate, roasted coffee, and grapefruit. Thick and chewy. I'm diggin it.

Thick, hazy brown pour. No head, a few tan bubbles. Big sweet malts, caramel, dark fruits, hops in the aroma. Smells big. Starts sweet with the malt and caramel flavor going to a bit of the dried fruit and ending with dry bitter hops. Roasted aftertaste. Full body, complex. Excellent.

750 ml bottle. Fine-laced brownish white head. Hazy orangey dark brown. Pungent raisin and port-wine aromas. Really sweet. Some sherry aromas can be detected as well. Alcohol and hop kick you in the face. Extremely bitter. There seems to be used mostly high alpha acid hops. Relatively little hop aroma, so the main contribution is a strong bitterness. Thick and sweet body. Aftertaste is really bitter. The monstrous bitterness makes it feel almost boringly bitter.

On tap at Toronado for Barleywine fest ’09. Reddish-brown color with a small head. Aroma is dark fruits, sweet malt, and piney hops. Flavor is more of the same, hops characteristic of the Pacific Northwest. Full mouthfeel and alcohol on the finish.

it seems people love this beer or they’re iffy on it. I’m one of the lovers. ’98 bottling: pours deep, slightly hazy red. a thin ring of bubbles is all the head there is. aroma of slight herbs, berries(raspberries?) and chocolate. big flavours of raisins, more berries and brown sugar with a good dose of hops. not quite as hoppy as I remember the ’99 or ’00 being, mind you. still a very tasty brew.

Bottle shared at the Smoke from the Oak release. One of the old 7oz bottles (which looked remarkably small once someone showed up with a 3L of Mad Elf), of the 1998 vintage. Pours a murky looking brown with a hint of a tan head. Smells salty and briny, with dark stone fruit notes. Malty and somewhat thick, slightly sweet, with a little salinity on it, moving into a light finish with some roasted malt coming through.

Update: got a chance to try some of the 1999 vintage...similar to the 98, but not nearly as good. Finished with a nice smokiness and a big bitterness, while the nose had a nice caramel note. Not as salty as the 98, which is one of the best parts of that beer I think. I’d probably score the 99 a bit lower than the 98, so I’ll leave the 98 score.

2004 bottle. Imagine, carythedude didn’t want this. Deep red opaque pour with a tan head that clings to the glass. Aroma of deep, dark fruits and hops. Flavor is fruity and slightly bitter, but mostly excellent. An absolutely sublime ale to bring in the new year. With age, the booze has worked itself into the malt for a great balance for a 11.5% beer. An absolute treat.

draft @ portland public house - 2007 edition; again served in a monster goblet; dark orange with slight head and lots of haze; lots of spice in the aromas and mixed with some hops, a little sugar and alcohol; flavors pack a mouthful and drinks a little harsh; not quite my style of BW, but could use some time to mellow and even out