Southampton Old Herb

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

Hazy amber color. Powerful malty aroma, with caramel, wood, light apples and lately some alcohol too. Good body strength, with powerful malty flavor and caramel/toffee, strong bitterness too; well balanced; the alcohol warms the mouth just a bit. The final too is well balanced, with a lot of sticky sugars and enough bitterness. Excellent.

2003 - 12oz bottle number 128 of 500 - MMM, very complex, even for a barleywine - chocolate, roasted oats, cherries, raisins, brown sugar, molassas, and somehow they all work together - a little astrigent at first, but mellows as it warms - very impressive for such a young example - Southampton does it again.

Orange gold color. Small sized head. Aroma is caramel, vanilla, brown sugar and alcohol. A medium to full bodied barley wine. Malts are intensely caramel and fruit. Hops are slightly grapefruity. Oranges and brown sugar. Extremely smooth tasting. Nice balance. Alcohol is very noticeable, aside from that this is a nice subtle complex barley wine. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finis is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. Thanks for sharing this one Sean...

Pours a tawny, burnt orange with a minimal bubbly head. Aroma is sweet citrous, dark fruit and molasses candy. Pungent yet, nice, I am eager for the first taste. After a year in the cellar, this 2003 version has mellowed much, and improved substantially. Oh, yeah! This is a complexity of fruity sweet malts, rich, big mouthfeel and ample hops for a perfect balance. Didn't even like it new, butI LOVE it aged. Cheers again Phil.

This one is way underrated...then again, I can’t speak for the aging process. I drank bottle #25 of 500 of the 2004 vintage (top 5%!!!). Pours turbid copper with a huge, off-white, creamy head. Aroma of malt, hops, citrus, dark fruit, cabernet, spice, slight sausage. Tastes malty, sweet, with hops, citrus, apples, pears, berries, bubblegum, candy, slight sauerkraut, and hot dogs. Mid to heavy, full, firm, bold palate. Overall, this is an excellent beer, and well worth finding. Half Time still has two bottles left of the 2004. With all due respect, the Jersey guys (or anyone else) rating this under a 2.0 should be tarred and feathered, and then given remedial beer rating training.

Bottle # 12, 2004 release. A barley wine (my favorite style) brewed by one of the best breweries in the world, this ought to be quite tasty. Light crimson hued with a healthy and lasting head, considering its size. Strange and intoxicating aroma of malt (caramel, raisins, pit fruit, plums), hops (resin, grapefruit, passion fruit) along with hints of agave, vanilla, honey and toffee. Rich and equally balanced flavor. Big chewy malts bringing forth notes of caramel-laden fruits, toffee and raisins along with a spicy, herbaceous and resiny hop bitterness. Big, coating texture and extremely well hidden alcohol. Sensational.

Bottle 139 of 500, provided by and shared with tpkenned. Glowing, semi-translucent safire color with jagged ice and a creamy tan wrung for the head. Aroma is a precursor of good things to come: grenadine, amarillo, maple soaked pistachios with a touch of grandad’s brandy manhattan, and musty rose petals in plant food saturated water. Ripe bing cherries roll out the flavor, with smooth oak impartations to balance a sweet hop profile. Promulgating amaretto and grenadine join soggy juniper spice bread. Thick cherries and a palatable almond cheesecake, drizzled with sap from an evergreen. Not overbearing on the palate, but confident, expansive and lingering. Perfect palate performance with a strong attention to the bitterness portion. Finishes with maple, cedar and sweet amaretto bitters. Lovely indeed.

2005 bottle, #339 of 500. Just a beautiful pour.. rich garnety-brown with a stately, well-retained cap of creamy beige head.. rising carbonation and light sediment. The aroma was seductive and decidedly English with toffee, biscuity notes, and medium-skinned fruity sweetness, dried floral and herbal accents, and black peppery spices.. great balance and just delightful all around. The flavor was centered around warm toffee and biscuity sweetness that was amplified by alcohol warmth.. dusty darker spices including black pepper and herbal bitterness surrounded.. finished warm with a bunch of darker fruit and toffee. Heavier-bodied with fuller carbonation on the palate that gave a whipped, creamy feel.. well-balanced and warm, but not unreasonably so.. grainier on the back, laying out the flavors expertly across the palate. This was a great treat that I would love to try again in the future.