3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20pours a dark burnt caramel with a thin beige head, some lacing that goes away quickly, and some lacing.
smell of caramel, dark fruit, some roasted nuts, and brown sugar.
taste is dry, bitter, caramel, dark fruit, a touch of citrus, and roasted nuts.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle from the brewery last year. Pours clear reddish brown. Tastes sweet, thick, like syrup, raisins, dried fruits. Smells like dates, apples, malt. Medium body and low carbonation.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle. Pours clear, dark amber with a trace of creamy off-white head. Aroma is cookie and caramel malts, floral hips, booze, plums, light vanilla, fresh dough and figs. Flavor is bready malts forward with supporting floral hops, dark fruit esters, booze, and some sweetness; dry finish. Medium/full body and low carbonation.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle shared by sonnycheeba. Pours clear mahogany with a small, fizzy off-white head, short retention with light lacing. Aroma is caramel and cookie malt, spicy alcohol, dates and nutmeg. Flavor is malt dominant with moderate alcohol, medium hops and bitterness with a dry finish. Medium body and carbonation.
3.6 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 12/20
Bottle. Taste is malt, roasted nuts and caramel. Smooth and easy drinking. Nice.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle from CoOp Bellingham, WA, 12.35% ABV
Dark amber-brown color, small head. Quite nice aroma of malt and caramel, an most of all a pleasant note of sweaty hops and light cheesy yeast; English barley wine. Caramel flavor; the mouthfeel is quite round, there is a moderate sweetness; correct bitterness, with a very light buttery and nutty touch in the end. The final is somehow short, and there is an impression of alcohol.
Good aroma, the flavor lacks of depth.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Very sweet and fruity to the nose. Could smell this from a few feet away even, as I was throwing the bottle away. Kind of an opague root beer color with little to no head. Just some light white splotchiness on the top. Very strong taste as expected. Very alcoholic, brandy with some wood notes. Taste like it may have spent time in some whiskey barrels. Though I mentioned it in the color, there is a sort of root beer taste to this at first. Subtle but there, interesting. Caramel and vanilla aftertaste. Minimal hop presence. Little to no carbonation. Smooth texture yet heavy body. Lingers in the mouth for quite a while. Not necessarily a bad thing. Overall it’s enjoyable and I would sip on one again.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
What a random beer. Been holding onto this for awhile, and finally just got the urge. 2009 vintage, shared with Michelle. Pours murky dark brown with violet tones, small tan head. A bit of lacing. Nose is big raisin bread, fruit cake, some apricot, vanilla, bourbon. Not hot at all, especially for 13.3%. Almost cloyingly sweet, still after nearly four years, but pretty good: more raisin and plum, apricot, bready mouthfeel, a hint of bourbon and hop bitterness on the finish. Decent surprise.
3.6 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle at our Cellar Dip party... [2009 vintage] Poured deep amber, brownish with a beige head. Big, viscous, thick mouthfeel. Subtle carbonation. Big sweetness and booze flavors. Brown sugar, date-like fruits. Earthy spicing, low bitterness. Quite malt forward.
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Shipped to me by my wife on a trip to Portland. Rather understated for a barleywine. +++ Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a hazy caramel-brown color with a small beige head that left a bit of lacing. The aroma was raisin, cherry and caramel. The flavor was bitter with notes of nut, caramel, raisin, tart cherries and bread. The finish was medium length caramel and raisin. Medium body. Decent.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle, 2008 vintage, 12.35%. Beautiful deep amber with ruby highlights, low brief tan head. Aroma is toasty toffee with accents of woody earth and apple brandy. Sticky sweet dark caramel malt with sourish/tart fruit that doesn’t really marry well. Also, the mouthfeel is surprisingly thin for a beer of this magnitude. The finish is very dry, pithy even. An enjoyable brew, but as far as barley wines go, not top tier.
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