Southampton Old Herb

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

2002: Light almond. Very unusual rocky mixture of dusty, large/small bubbles; excellent retention. Herbs, medicine, and tobacco in the aroma. Undertones of pine, dark honey, fig, melon, vanilla, toffee, toasted coconut, persimmon, all capped by a faint tropical fruit dusting. Full, expansive carbonation; perhaps too fluffy for its own good. Initial flavors of toffee, soft citric twang, and earth. Faint astringent, metallic shades toward the finish, accompanied by almond, spiced rum, and mild, honeyed orange rind. Persistent earthy hops resound over the lush malts in the long run. This offers a bit of both worlds: Moderate hop bitterness and loads of sweet malts, toffee. Although a brewer of this magnitude can do far better, this is still a classy, unoffensive barleywine of which most other breweries would be very proud.

bottle #477/500-thanks to Erway for sharing this rare barleywine with us. Pours a slightly couldy orange hue with a decent off-white head. A wierd aroma that was funky, musty and part hoppy also with a tinge of caramel malts. sourness shows up in the flavors moreso than in the aroma. This one could use some aging i think.

Side-by-side with the Avery Ten and it had a lot in common with it--almost to the point of confusion. Hazier, for one; good head on swirl of amber body. Good balance of flavors, mildly sweet, raisins, cheerful malts, less tea-like than the Avery. Well balanced and enjoyable.

Cloudy, dirty rust colored. Pour with a moderate head. Aroma is fruit, figs, or prune and earthy like dried twigs. Some alcohol is apparent too. Watery mouthfeel. Dry finish. Pretty good barley.

BW tasting at Dumdum’s, Late March 2005. Bought at Beers of the World, oct. 2004. Beautiful red copper robe with cherry hues and an off-white head. Good carbonation. Aroma of sweet malt, cloves and mint, with nice alcohol wafting though. In mouth, sweet candy sugar, vinous , but very harsh hops, astringent. Licorice notes noted. Thin bodied BW, where the alcohol is too noticeable.

(Bottle) Surprisingly light coloured with a deep orange with reddish tinge and a long lasting frothy white head. Nose of deep peppermint, prunes and mild bourbon. Outstanding nose isn’t transmitted to the flavour however - I found the taste, though very sweet, to be lacking and unidimensional. Licorice, fizzy, light and with an oddly mild flavour.Sour finish reminds me of my mother’s Seville orange marmelade. Good. Many thanks Lubiere for sharing!

Bottle #81. Deep, cloudy, ruby color. Light head. Rich aroma. Raisin's, caramel, and a mixture of spices in this brew! Very impressive. Kind of thick taste, but that's OK. Very full bodied. Light alcohol taste. Spices in the taste, but nothing that a normal barley wine typically has. Thick on your palate. Overall, a good beer, just not what I had hoped from Southampton. Thanks Jeremy for suggesting me to buy this beer! Bought this 12 oz bottle from Beers of the World in Rochester, NY.

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.