SNAB Maelstrøm

SNAB
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Barley Wine
Purmerend, Netherlands

Serve in Snifter

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Bottled. Hazy reddish amber with a dense and thich beige foam. Sweaty grapfruity hops in the aroma with notes of caramel, fudge, dried fruit and ash. Flavour starts dense and malty sweet of dried fruits, brown sugar but finishes really bitter of grapefruity and orangey hops.

On tap at ’t Arendsnest. Hazy copper colour with lacing head. Citrussy hop aroma. Strong, fruity flavours, citrus hops, some chewing gum sweetness. A bit sticky and sirupy. With a lot of everything it has to end up quite good.

UPDATED: APR 4, 2008 Bottled. Deep amber colour, small beigeish brown head. Aroma is earth, herbs, some mild fruits, a bit alcohol and quite wooden. Also some burnt wooden notes are there. Flavour is really nutty along with some herbs, spices and fruits. Alcohol burning quite much.

Bottle at Toms Ultimate Glasgow Tasting : Poured an amber color with off white head. The aroma was hoppy with earthy spice, slight pine. The taste was a fruity with lots of hops and alcohol. Nice carbonated feel on the tongue.

Bottle at ultimate glasgow tasting. Aroma is bursting with piney, resin american hop character, hints of spicey yeast character. Taste is similarly bursting with american citrus peppery hops, a good pale malt base, the alc is weel hidden. A very nice and different barley wine.

Bottle at Toms Ultimate Glasgow Tasting ... Copper with that typical american hop nose ... Very tart hop ... lots of fruity hop and pine ... but not working for me.

Lightly hazy rust orange and copper inflected body. Hints of an off-white head are nothing more than lasting fat bubbles around the perimeter. The aroma is a great blend of citric hops, piney resins, quite profoundly heavily toasted malts, light herbs and tropical fruits. Authenticity in the vein of new school barleywines is superb. The flavor has awesome malt and herbal backing/support structure. Bitterness is high, sweetness is medium, flavor overall is tasty. Toasted malt is maxed out. Soft but plentiful carbonation, full bodied but very easy drinking. Hints of toasty and lightly tart caramel join hop oils in a lingering finish. A great beer, I hope to revist this very soon and then some.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 3     Golden(1)->Dark brown(5) : 4     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 3
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 3   White(1)->Tan(5) : 2   Lasting: 4   Lacing : 3
Aroma:
Intensity : 4  
Yeast : 2   Bread : 2   Tropical Fruits : XX   Soap : XX   Diacetyl : XX Sulfur : XX   Fusel : XX  
Malt : 5   Biscuity : 3   Hay : XX   Toasty : 3   Caramel : 4   Fruity : 3   Nutty : 3   Honey : XX   Maple : 2   Molasses : XX   Cereals : 4   Grainy : XX
Hops : 2   Noble(1)->American(5) : 1   Leafy : XX   Spicy : XX   Floral : 2   Lemon/Lime : XX   Grapefruit : XX Orange : 1   Herbal : XX   Grassy : XX   Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX  
Notes :   Peach/Apricot : 3   Earth : 2   Mint : XX   Butterscotch : XX   Smoke : 2   Dates : XX   Bourbon : XX   Bubblegum : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 4   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 4   Sourness : XX   Bitterness : 1   Complex : 4   Length : 3
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 4   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 2   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : XX   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : 2   Mineral : XX   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: Sweet, but soft-edged, very smooth, complex and malty barleywine that I enjoyed a lot.

Bottle. Body-dark iced tea with a patchy film of bubbles. Nose-big American barleywine nose-sweet, aggressive PNW hops, apple, brown sugar, molasses, stocky. Taste-alcohol, prune, fig, very dark anise, very complex flavor that I can’t describe but I like. Leans slightly towards the sweet side.

(Bottle, BB 15/12/07) Pours a cloudy amber body with a medium beige head. Aroma of caramel, cherry, grapefruit, and nuts. Flavor of cherry, interesting herbals, grapefruit peel, and toffee with a bitter finish.