Southampton Old Herb

2002 Bottle - Turbid dark rust, thin lightly tanned creamy head. Rich nose of musty orange caramel, brown sugar, and molasses, with softer notes of sherry, warm fig and raisin. Well rounded and integrated flavors of brown sugar and aged citric hops. More dark fruit tones noted at room temp. Full bodied, medium carbonation, warming, bittersweet finish. This brew is probably in it’s prime right now. Really nice stuff. This 12oz. bottle courtesy of Spence at SH Publick House. A great place to visit, and a super nice guy to talk beer with...

2005 12oz bottle. thanks to holdenn for sharing. pours a hazy orange-golden with small white head. nose has quite lovely, lots of tobacco, and sweet caramel and brown sugar, and lovely slight hint of oxidation that contributed a desired sherry quality to the nose and taste. flavor isn’t that big, mild tobacco, brown sugar, and caramel. the flavor doesn’t follow the nose in depth and you leave feeling like it should develop into something more after every sip. alcohol is so well hidden though. a tasty beer none the less. I doubt it would get much better but I’d like to see it at 3 years old.

big thanks nhorween. 2005 bottle. smell of the bottle is extremely sweet. thinking bigfoot or behemoth. this is probably the sweetest beer i’ve ever smelled. i’m sticking with bigfoot on the aroma. fruity . the beer looks like a smoothie. red at the top, brown at the bottom. the yeast isn’t moving at all all. thick suspension. it’s surprising that the malt doesn’t show so strongly in the actual flavor. it’s the overriding character, but doesn’t really dominate. flavor is a tiny bit empty. not as thick as it looks, but reasonably viscous. i probably should have decanted the yeast because i can definitely taste it. i haven’t had a good barleywine in a long time, this is great.

I was looking forward to trying this one. i have one bottle I’m saving at my house but had never tried it. Courtesy boboski one more time. The guy is a sharing fiend. It pours a dark molasses brown, with almost no head. Smell consist of chocolate, caramel, and malts. If I take a big whiff i get an interesting wheat bread aroma. Tastes of caramel malts, and chocolate. Not overpowering at all, maybe slight oxidation but nothing to ruin the beer yet. This one definitely had a little age to it. Still a very good brew, but it makes me want to open my bottle a little sooner than I expected to see the difference.

2002 vintage, 12oz btl, courtesy of Phil Markowski. #306 of 500. Brilliant clear red pour, mostly diminishing off white head, little lacing during the quaff. Aroma has an extremely herbal malt character, bready, like nine grain whole wheat. Light hops, earthy, no citrus. Also has a little molasses and a very rustic feel to it. A slight metallic tinge due to oxidation is evident upon first sip, tastes like it may have had an uncomfortable slumber. A little bit of chocolate and even lesser vanilla as well. Excellent hop bitterness, most in mid-mouthfeel. Toasted malt flavor icludes a little honey, smoke. Very complex and interesting, although not at all what I expected. Mouthfeel is light-medium, thinned from five years of age for sure. Finishes very spicy, unfortunately the oxidation is souring the nice flavors. Otherwise, very tasty, still very good.

12oz. bottle, 2005 vintage, #234 of 500: This one pours a murky, darker amber color. Mine had some head on it which dropped away quickly. Good aroma: caramel, brown sugar, some fruitiness. The sweetness is subdued in the taste. This has a rich, silky mouthfeel. Some fruits, toffee, caramel, and a host of other complexities. This is a very good barleywine.

Thanks to Luiss for sending me this. "05 vintage. Pours a murky brown color with orange highlights and a slight tan head. The aroma is a nice mix of oranges, light brandy, brown sugar--the classic american barleywine smell in my opinion. The palate is medium with fairly high carbonation. Hoppy flavors hit you up front with a nice caramel flavor right behind. Carbonation is too high for my liking--Orval like--and detracts from the experience. Nice dry finish to a solid brew.

2003 bottle drank in 2006. Hazy dark orange with an off-white head, brown sugar and oranges in the aroma, thick slick body, starts lightly sweet, ends sweeter with a long orange aftertaste. Thanks Tom!