Southampton Old Herb

(2004,Bottle # 414) hazed cloudy amber color with a small lid of light tan bubbles. Heavy caramel and sweet malt aromas, balanced with a touch of grapefruit hops. Initial tropical fruit flavors including pineapple, papaya, along with plums and plunes. Middle has dry orange pine and light oak. Finishes with pepper and alcohol, with a palate biting bitterness. Me thinks I was a bit impatient with this one, but I really did not want to wait for next winter. Warming, A light linger of malt and cinnamon.

2004 bottle #432. Beautiful dark broze color with thick off-white head, great lacing and head retention. Powerful malty aroma with hints of alcohol, caramel, tobacco, strong hops. Complex taste never got too sweet or too alcoholic, nutty and bitter at the finish. Alcohol was at the perfect level, making it’s presence known but never overpowering the complexity of the beer. Aftertaste was caramelly after the dryness wore off. Another awesome beer from this brewer!!!

Vintage 2002 Batch # 478. Thin head with little carbonation. Big caramel aroma with hops, malt and toffee. Color is a murky brown. Flavor is thick and syrupy with a strong alcohol kick. Tons of malts and a touch of hops. More caramel and sweetness. Finish is thick and coating and warms nicely as it goes down. A decent barleywine but could use some more hops to offset the the thick malt palate and alcohol.

Bottle #289. Fast disappearing light tan head on a hazy amber/orange body. Strong aroma of hop, fruit, nut, caramel and vanilla. Flavor is sweet malty with notes of caramel and chocolate with a spicy undertone. Somewhat bitter and dry. Thanks to austinpowers for giving me this as an extra bonus in a trade!!

2002 Vintage. Bottle #94 out of 500. Fruity aroma, vinous and smells more like an SN Bigfoot and less malts in the nose than the just recently sampled Newport Storm ’02. Tiny head, murky cider-like appearance. Smooth citrusy bouquet to start. Pleasant alcohol burn. Not nearly as complex as the Newport Storm ’02 we just had. Good nonetheless.(7/4/7/4/15 3.7)-----re-rating----2004 bottle #409 (12/7/06). Very aromatic, vinous, pleasant, light oxidation. Murky amber color with small off-yellow head. Flavor is perfect. Vinous, sweet, mellow light oxidized flavors. Hops are definitely mellowed. Flavorful, extremely drinkable. Alcohol is non-apparent. If you have a 2004 bottle, DRINK IT NOW!!! (9/3/9/5/18 4.5) Overall score represents average of 2 vintages.

(2004, bottle #431) Hazy copper body topped by a small beige head. Aroma is first and foremost that which I associate with barleywine. Individual components include medium sweet, caramel, plum/raisin, grapefruit, some orange peel, vanilla, alcohol. Taste is medium sweet, caramel/toffee, grapefruit, some herbal/spice. The finish is grapefruit and some pine, along with medium alcohol warming. Medium-full body, some stickiness. Good stuff.

[Bottle 289 - the one pictured] An unclear dark red beer with no head. The aroma is sweet with notes of hops, grass, and alcohol. The flavor is sweet and very hoppy and grassy, so much that it bites the tongue. A very nice beer. Thanks to Jeppe (Bierkönig) for sharing this bottle.

Bottle no. 289, the one on the picture! <--. Amber coloured. Vanilla in the aroma. Sweet and hoppy flavour with a very bitter finish. Thanks Jeppe.