 texasbartender (151), Sugarland, Texas, USA
Jun 14, 2008
Beer pours a very hazy red amber with a great creamy head that poured thick but quickly settled, the lacing rocks. This is a hoppy beer; the nose is a very forward hop with an underpinning of sweet stone fruit with a hint of malts. The taste is what you expect from the nose; a dry hoppyness mixed with malts and alcohol. I am torn on this beer I really like it but I don’t think it is a good example of a barley wine. It might settle down a little with time but it needs a few years.
JCB (1061), Durham, North Carolina, USA
Oct 6, 2008 Bottle shared with durhambeer and emacgee - thanks to whichever one of you provided this one! A superlative American barleywine for sure, and a real surprise! Nice cloudy orange pour. Fruity nose, quite hop forward even here. What I most appreciated was the way St. A combines the fruity, hoppy, floral qualities of the American BWs with the intense malty features of the English, with the whole somehow managing to remain clean and easy-drinking. But of a burn on the end, but that’s just the beer giving you a little kiss goodnight.
durhambeer (527), Durham, USA
Oct 5, 2008 Damn, this was good. I’m not much of a barleywine guy, but perhaps that’s because I haven’t had many like this. Cloudy amber/orange pour. Creamy off-white head. Hoppy/malty nose as one would expect from a US barleywine, but with a good bit of bread and fruit as well. On the palate, the taste was just amazing: perfumy fruit: passion fruit and other tropical notes. Fruitcake. Still malty, too. Great mouthfeel for a barleywine, too. Not syrupy at all. Just great. Thanks to emacgee for sharing.
stoutlover72 (1336), NorCal, California, USA
Oct 4, 2008 Amazing. Simply...just...wow. Amazing. Fantastic beer from top to bottom. Enormous flavor, perfect mouthfeel, enticing aroma. Classic example of a GREAT American Barleywine.
The beer pours out a cloudy color of melted caramel candies, with an off-white fluffy head with a bunch of large bubbles. The head created was nice and thick and stayed the entire time I drank this beauty. The aroma was major hoppage. Fantastic citrusy aroma, tons of resin, alcohol, sweet malts, bready and a bit of the vine...reminded me of the smell of a brewhouse. Flavor was just a flat out assault of hops. Tons of juicy bitter hops, slightly oxidized, sweet malts, caramels, with a slightly hot finish. Harsh on the tongue and loved every minute of it. Thick and chewy up front with a smooth, last finish. Damned near perfect.
emacgee (1130), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Oct 3, 2008 Pours a bright non translucent orange red with a thin creamy yellow orange head. The nose is very pungent, hoppy, citrusy, fruity, sweet, malty, a little alcohol, mild earthy maltiness. Lovely hop nose. The flavor is fruity and hoppy, nice assertive hop profile that lacks the bitterness it could have had. Malty, very clean upfront citrus flavor, lemon peel. Light alcohol shows some warmth in the mouthfeel and the hops lend a grapefruit peel bitterness. A lovely barley wine.
Haslinger (547), Syracuse, New York, USA
Oct 3, 2008 12 ounce bottle poured into a snifter. Damn good beer. Thanks a lot Zinister. A very good hoppy aroma. The taste is a bit malty with some good pine hop taste. The aftertaste is bitter but lingers nicely in the mouth. Great brew
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