Schlafly Reserve Barleywine Style Ale Aged On Oak

Brewed by Saint Louis Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Maplewood, Missouri USA

Serve in Snifter

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Pours an orange-ish copper with slight haze and off white head. There is some spotty lacing clinging to the glass too. The aroma is tough to pick up and discern. I get some mild and vague dark fruity esters, some wood and then a bit of booze. The aromas are fairly well melded together. The taste is a nice marriage of both barrel aged notes and some malt and dark fruity barleywine sweetness. The wood and dark fruit hit first. The dryer boozy tannin like flavor hits later and builds toward the finish creating a dry ending to the taste. The barrel age seems a bit more dominant than the classic barleywine notes. I’d prefer the opposite or a bit more of a balance. Still high on the yumminess scale.

bottle from drmatt: pours a nice cooper orange hue with a white head some lacing. aroma is dark malts with a small dark fruit essences. definetley some caramel malt. hints of the oak and bourbon. flavour is very oaked and bourbon a nice caramel malt that fades into a great spicey yeast and some piney earth hops. real good finish.

UPDATED: OCT 15, 2008 Bottle courtesy thedm and hotstuff: 06 bottle pours cloudy orange/brown with no head. Oaked citrus, bananas and floral hops in the nose. Dry, woodsy mouth feel leads the way to a sweet honey flavor with a mildly piney hop finish. Pretty good. Rerate: ’07 Bottle...more of a translucent copper color with a minimal cream head. Nose had notes of caramel malt, vanilla, oak, plums and some brown sugar. Hmmmm, so far much different than the ’06 bottle...flavor was intense caramel/toffee flavors with a strong oak presence, notes of vanilla and some light fruity esters present as well. Much, much better than the previous bottle. Rating reflects most recent bottle.

Bottle, 75cl. Dark brown colour with a small tan head. Aroma of nutty malts, caramel, dark bread & cherries. Taste is malty with hops, berries and a tinge of alcohol.

Poured a nice cloudy copper color with some real nice lacing.the nose on this was strange.Hints of smoke, cheese, vegetables, and wood.Flavor was a mild hopped brew with some wood notes.it finished off with a small crip bite.

Dried fruity raisin and hops aroma. Dark opaque reddish brown color. Minimial head. Flavors of dried fruit, figs, sweet caramel, lightly bitter hops. Some chocolate. Good balance. Did not notice the alcohol. Mild palate, not overly thick. Nice and even overall. Very drinkable.

Dark amber pour, with a lot of lacing, not overpowered by oak, Some sweet fruit flavor, Wood, Vanilla, easy drinking for the style, very enjoyable.Thanks to Duane for the bottle!

Clear ruby-red, thin head, good lacing. Hoppy aroma, some sweet maltiness, and raisins. Taste is malty sweet w/ raisins finished off with bitterness. Full bodied. Really tasty.

Courtesy mcbackus or jayg. I know they both brought a bottle to Throwdown 3, but not sure which one I drank, so thanks to both for bringing it! Pours a slightly cloudy copper amber, with a small white head. Smells of bready yeast, dark fruits, caramel malts, and definitely got some oak in there as well. The flavor was alot of the same. Pretty woody as that oak seemingly did a number on it. I got alot of the caramel malts and yeasty flavors I usually get too. Not balanced perfectly, but still not bad. This was a decent brew.

Bottle - 2006 vintage. Aromas are weak for a barley wine, but the oak comes through nicely. A little bit of a honey-like sweetness is detectable, as well as some bourbon notes. Color is a lovely coppery brown with a pretty minimal head. Flavor is OK, but nothing spectacular. It has a bit of a tart edge to it that I didn’t see coming and it is fairly distracting. Also, the oaky notes are not in harmony with the sweet qualities and the tart edges and the whole thing just kind of seems like a symphony without a director or score. This disjointedness seemed to decrease as it warmed and breathed a bit. Mouthfeel is thinner than most and doesn’t have that lovely sticky syrupiness that I associate with barley wines. A