Southampton Old Herb

Brewed by Southampton Publick House
Style: Barley Wine
Southampton, New York USA

2005 bottle nuber 497 of 500, Sampled May 2006
Pours a hazy, orangish amber color. It is lightly carbonated and just barely summons a wispy tan colored head. The aroma is hugely malty; concentrated caramel malt notes, ample toffee, lots of toasted grain character, some saltiness and even a bit smokey. Underneath the ample malt notes is a sweet, fruity, mostly cherry-like note. Also, something I can hardly believe in a beer so young, there are some oxidation notes already; notes of sherry, and musty cellar notes marry with even a touch of funky cheese character. A backdrop of herbal hop character is here as well. An interesting aroma, certainly intriguing, not what I was expecting, but certainly not unwanted.

Thick and chewy, this beer immediately coats my palate. Sweet, yet not sticky or simple, malt notes of caramel, toffee and malt are found up front, these move to a hop bitterness that is approaching levels that a traditional English Barleywine might use. The hop character while dominated by the malt is quite ample in its own right. Herbal hops, are combined with an earthy spiciness, a hint of grapefruit like character, and a definite hop bitterness that lingers on in the finish. Also in the finish is a dry, quite toasted malt note. A bit of boozy alcohol rounds out the finish, and gives this beer a bit of a warming note. This beer is quite complex; the malt is concentrated enough that it picks up a certain saltiness, almost even a peat-like character and definitely a meaty sort of umami type note.

I am really starting to dig this brew, I was not sure at first, but the complex malt character combined with the relatively subdued hopping (at least for an American made Barley Wine) really combine superbly to give this beer multiple layers of flavor. This is definitely a sipping beer; sweet, yet in no way sugary or simplistically sweet and lots of concentrated character up the wazoo. The flavors dance on my tongue changing from concentrated prune and raisin notes at one moment, to salty meaty malt notes at another, and finishing with a nipping bitterness and an almost peaty smoke quality. This beer has perhaps aged a bit quicker than I would expect from a Barley Wine, but it makes this barely 1 year old bottle that much more complex and drinkable right at this moment. I am not too sure how much longer I would hold on to a bottle of this vintage, perhaps a year maybe a bit more, but unfortunately this is not a thing I get to contemplate as this is my only bottle.

2006 Draught snifter at SHPH on 4/28/06
I really want to get right in to the flavor of this one first, because it blew me away and is truly remarkable. Tropical fruits collide with maris otter and other pale malts, providing mostly dry, yet somehow lightly sweet notes as well, almost like a demi-sec champagne. The malt is so cleanly delivered, with fascinating notes of pears, guavas and even some citrus-pineapple to match. A smooth, almost vanilla-apricot sorbet note appears, closely followed by sticky, orange blossom honey (which is a very rich variety of honey). It’s sweet, but not sugary, as Joe says. No gritty, simple sugar, or caramelly sweet malts, really, just a really smooth, soothing mix of sweet and dry sherry, with a touch of earthiness, almost wood-like and very English. But the one problem with English barleywines that I’ve always found was their lack of brightness, that is, the flavors always seem earthy, dusty, salty-toffee-like and "old" for lack of a better term. This really goes quite the opposite direction with the tropical fruits, strong green pear skins and pale malt/maris otter complexity (tastes like maris otter, anyway). Fair amount of warming on the end, as it dries out heavily, but the soothing texture never diminishes, as the low carbonation stays mainly out of the way, only making sure that things don’t get syrupy.
The nose has plenty of pear skin, dry floor malt notes and just a hint of light vinousness, more like pinot grigio or riesling. Soft honey and various fruits are surprisingly reserved.
Appears an apricot-brass sort of color, with warm canteloupe flesh-like highlights and a small, poorly retained beige head, minor lacing. Clarity is low to medium-low.

Draught snifter at Public House 4/27/06. Pours a brilliant melon color with a small white head. Very hazy. Nose is remarkable with mangos, papayas and tropical fruit with a hint of vinous alcohol. First sip was shocking, so sweet and fruity with a nice stingy palate and almost grapefruit like sourness that makes your mouth sticky and lips pucker. The more sips I took the more I really enjoyed this beer. Great flavors and a real individual of a beer. Notes of mangos and pears with some very sweet malt and some dry qualities throughout that makes the complexity wonderful.

This bottled brew marked #139 of 500 was sampled at the RateBeer gathering at Dick’s Bodacious Bar-B-Que. It poured a small sized head of foamy finely sized light brown colored bubbles that left behind a very hazy light brown colored body with suspended particulate and a poor lacing. The aroma was mildly sweet, malty and doughy. The mouth feel was mildly tingly and vinous from start to finish. The flavor contained malty doughy mild vinous notes.

Bottle #139 of 500 2004. Poured a very small head with a cloudy appearance. Hoppy, fruity, malty nose. Flavor was sweet and bitter hoppy. Tingly palate. Light body.

Bottle from Goldtwins,Thanks Larry. I really was not all that fond of this.It was kind of soury and yet malty but this thing lost its way somewher down the line. No balance at all.

2006, Tap at the Publick House. Poured into a snifter. Dark, dark copper color with just a bit of head that quickly dissappears. Cant see through the beer. Smell is fresh and malty with that barley wine like sweetness. A prototypical barleywine taste on the lower end of bitterness and a sweetness thats not over the top. Alcohol present but not over the top. A very well balanced barleywine in my opinion.
Rerate from 2006 bottle, poured into a snifter on my most recent visit to the Publick house. The nose was much more hopped than tap - all tropical fruit. It was not at the level of West Coast BWs but definitely not a Britsh BW - I guess an East Coast BW. Taste was even more amazing, more fruit flavors came out. Raising the score on this thing.

Sample at Indy tasting Dick’s BBQ 3/31/06 - bottle #139 2004- Aroma is sweet carmel, wood and other earthy elements. Pours flat brown. Flavor is also earthy, carmel, and a sweet aftertaste. Palate is sticky. I liked it and would like to have a whole bottle to truely enjoy.