Southampton Old Herb

Bottle 2/500, 2005. Pours with above average carbonation and a finger of cream colored head that lasts for a long while. Impressive long lasting lacing. Color is an amber dark brown, nice cloudy and opaque. Aroma is sweet caramel, brown sugar, cinnamony with fruit, kind of like a delicious apple pie with a balanced citrusy refreshing hoppiness. Aroma becomes more hoppy as it warms. Beer is thick and full with a sure sensation of alcohol, beginning is very citrusy and hoppy with an almost chewy chocolatyness at the end. Very enjoyable and very well balanced.

325/500, 2006. Amber body with almost no head, blah lacing. Aroma is caramel, alcohol, lotsa fruits. Flavor is the same, very sweet. Definitely more English style for a BW. Hops are here, but nothing like Bigfoot for example. Alcohol is hidden well but you definitely know it’s there too. While there was a good malt complexity, I didn’t find this beer to be all that enjoyable overall. 7/3/7/3/15 Rerate after cellaring for 18 months: similar appearance, but very solid lacing despite a smallish head. Aroma is brown sugars with caramel and lesser dark fruit notes. Yeast is here as well. Avoids being overly sticky like so many in the style, alcohol hidden really well. Still fairly sweet, medium to heavy body. Interesting and very drinkable, I like... 8/4/8/4/16.

Bottle from the <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/new-york/rochester/beers-of-the-world/491.htm target=blank>Beers Of The World in Rochester, New York. Bottle #466/500. Vintage 2004. Deep copper in colour, thin beige head leaving behind thin lace near the top of the glass. The aroma is of caramel malts, plums, some noticable alcohol, quite hoppy (citrus, pine), some chocolate as well. The flavour is very hopped (pine, orange, maybe some light grapefruit), big caramel sweetness, dark fruits, minor alcohol. Chewy mouthfeel, large body, medium carbonation. Finishes long, some smoke, moderate bitterness. Nice stuff.

Bottled - Vintage 2005: Unclear orange coloured. Dense beige head. Aroma of caramel, grapes, spices and some fruits. Flavour of alcohol, liqourice, dark fruits and some cherrynotes. Medium to full body. Very warming and fruity in the end. Good one. Thanks to probiere for the trade.

12oz bottle #54 of 500 vintage 2005 that gushed out the top and blasted about half of itself out in the sink <!-- cry --> Anyway I got this via trade with notalush! - Thanks Brandon! - Poured a dark amber with a nice foamy beige head that faded back to a sudsy layer on top in the snifter and laced some. Aroma is some cherry, caramel, yeast, and definite pine, grapefruit as well. Flavor is quite malty with lots of caramel, some cherry, yeast, a touch of pear, and some toffee as well. Palate is almost sticky with sweetness but pretty smooth in the mouth as well. 11% Alcohol is undetected. I’m even sadder after drinking it that I lost part of it in the sink! Good brew!

2006 bottle. Brought home with us from the brewery. Beer is a very hazy medium-dark caramel color with a nearly nonexistent, white, frothy glass-ring of a head. Hoppy for a Barleywine: Malty with moderate notes of toasted grain, nuts, cookie and caramel; Heavily hoppy with notes of green grass, pointed notes of resin/pine and cedar; Yeasty with a light-to-moderate note of dough, light note of basement/wet cement; Moderate note of green apple and alcohol. The flavor is moderately sweet, moderately bitter with a long, moderately warm, moderately sweet, moderately-to-heavily bitter finish. Salty aftertaste. The body is full, the texture is vevety/syrupy and the carbonation is soft. I’d love to get behind this baby with more shoulder, but it nets out as being unpleasant for me. Nothing at all wrong with it stylistically or artisitically, just not enjoyable for me. Sort of like smelling a pine cleaning product or accidentally licking pine sap off of your fingers when you’re hiking. The taste of this kicks off the "this isn’t food, spit it out" trigger in my brain.

Bottle courtesy of BeastieFan2K. A nice, East Coast version of the style w/ a malty presence with a salty finish. Not overpowering w/ the alcohol. The 11% is well hidden.

Bottle courtesy of hopdog! 2005 Vintage. Number 411 of 500. Murky autumn colors (brown, red, orange) with a small white head. Nose is sweet malts, caramel, citrusy hops, sea salt, and dark fruits. Taste is a bit lesser of the aroma. Creamy sweet malts, caramel, touch of toffee, dark fruits, light alcohol, mild hops, and light herbal notes. Body is surprisingly creamy and smooth. Light bitterness and alcohol notes come through as well. Finishes with more fruit notes (citrus fruits, but I’m also picking up grapes and soft melon notes), mild hops, light alcohol, caramel, light toffee, and light saltiness. This is about as close to an English and American barleywine cross that I’ve had. Very nice! Wish I had more!