Samuel Adams Barley Wine

SABW makes me fall off chairs and yell at total stramgers, I want it intravenous.

Dark orange ale with a thick off white head. Rich hoppy aroma over a good malt base. In mouth, the hops come out first, with little of the fruity esters, caramel or raisins associated with the style. If this was an I2PA, it would good. But again, a proof the good people at BBC can brew great stuff. At EBF 2006.

On tap at EBF... Aroma:Strong aroma,fruity and sugar.... Appearance:Hazy amber,light head.. Flavor:alcohol,grassy hops,light sugar....

Russet and cloudy bodied, elevating a generous beige head. Sweaty nose with orange and woody hops that show pretty discrete. Sweet maple and toasted nut try to claim so malt identity, but it remains frail, unconfident and all at the surface. An attempt of character emanate from a woody dryness that grows and grows, eventually matching the sweetness toward the finish and bringing a sense of balance, but it’s more of a safety than a race toward glory. Rather thin in palate, of medium effervescence and most unfortunate watery edges for a barleywine. I’ve seen better from those guys.

On draught at EBF ’06. Fresh/young looking barleywine, with a resilient burst of beige head, well-retained, though eventually fading to cover, with little to no lacing. Amber-tan colored body is quite clear upon settling with an auburn sheen to it. The nose ushers in swift American hops, plenty of citrus, high amounts of floral bitterness and a fair amount of pine resin. Lush/rich caramel malts, sweet and powerful seek to balance the hops, while the signature light sourness of the munich malt puts the finishing touches on what Martin aptly calls the standard American Barley Wine. Much like the new Old Guardian, with its high amount of Munich malt (though this one dosent have quite the hop complexity in the nose). The flavor is every bit what you would expect: huge bittering hops, resinous alpha acid burn coupled with near-syrupy caramelized malt flavors and the even more dry, heavy munich maltiness. Fruit esters are moderate, and though the alcohol adds a grand amount of warming and some dryness, it is fairly well concealed. Rich and young, decadent and unbalanced, I’m guessing SA will be cellaring some of this batch. Thick body to it, but again the C02 addition from the keg helps mitigate that somewhat. The more I drink, the more it burns. I’m rather surprised, given all of the innovation of Sam Adams Jamaica Plain brewery, that they chose to produce such a generic example, but you have to start somewhere I suppose.