Southampton Old Herb

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

12-oz.; thanks, AbusedGoat! Pours thick murky brown with the briefest and thinnest of filmy white heads. Huge toffee and caramel nose, huge toffee and caramel palate. A bit raw. Boozy. Thick and sharp. You taste some resiny hop toward the end but the finish is all boozy bite. This one still needed some time; this is what I get for jumping the gun.

Holla at nhorween for this bastard. Batch 270/500. This guy’s got a ton hops and malts in the aroma. Served pehaps a bit too warm, as alcohol is too obvious. Flavor is tons of caramel and some hops which is a surprise. Alcohol on the finish but that’s probably because it’s so warm. great barley wine

2005. Dark wood colour with good head. Very citrus, very creamy mouthfeel. Very drying finish. Herbal and hoppy aroma. I thought this was a fine beverage, a good old ale, but nothing extraordinary as a barleywine. And it’s expensive for a small bottle, but I wouldn’t want any more.

2006 version at the Publick House. A wonderfully full, sweet and hoppy barleywine that is similar to Third Coast Old Ale but filtered. As it warms and the abv starts to hit, this truly becomes a decadent drink that instills calm and reflection. Of course I can’t separate the beer from the fact that I was on vacation, but who drinks beer in a vacuum?

2005 bottle, 258 out of 500. Deep amber, murky color with a yellowish-white head (and lots of suspended particles). Very nice aroma. Hops, alcohol, toffee, vanilla, all preceding a resiny, sticky, sweetness (think maple syrup). Big grassy, chewy hops, with pronounced sweetness followed by some pretty serious bitterness. Super creamy and warming. Nice body. This is a very good barleywine, and the only thing that makes an old horizontal or a doggie claws any better is the integration of flavor and aroma that this beer might lack.

2006 bottle. 321/500. Pour is dead-on amber with no head. none. not much carbonation either, atleast not too many bubbles. nose is sweet caramel, faint fruits, faint hops, and alcohol. flavor is initially very sweet, well balanced, but not as much of a hoppy palate as some BW’s. Medium to thick bodied. You can taste alcohol, but i believe 11% is well hidden. Not bad at all, but not my favorite style either so I can’t say I love it. Glad to have rated.

2005 Bottle. Number 25 of 500. I remember the old Herb McCarthy’s at Bowden Square. My Mom and Dad used to go dancing there in the late 1960’s and early 70’s. I remember them telling me on one occassion that Mr. McCarthy bought my mother and father a bottle of champagne because he enkoyed watching them dance. On to the beer... This was a difficlut brew for me to judge. There were aspects of this beer I liked very much and other I frankly did not. It pours a dark brown with a thin light tan head that lasted through the entire glass and left a nice curtain of lace. Very pleasant aroma of dates, raisins and sweet malt. Unfortunately, I found these same aspects lacking in the flavor. Just sort of blah. The mouthfeel started out creamy and rich, but slid into a very bitter, very dry finish. I’m glad I tried it, but I don’t think I liked it well enough to buy more.

2004 Bottle. 2 years old. Pour is red brown with wisps of white. Aroma is big and sweet malt. An english barley wine for sure. Flavor is well blended and smooth, just a touch of hop bite in the finish. Body is full and yummy.