Steel Toe Before the Dawn

Brewed by Steel Toe Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
St Louis Park, Minnesota USA

Serve in Snifter

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75 cL bottle. Pours dark brown to black with a small tan head. Aroma is roasted dark malty and caramelish. Smooth malty, caramelish and roasted. Smooth malty and sweet caramelish into the finish.

(750ml bottle) Pours an opaque black body with a spare tan head. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, caramel, and some whiskey. Flavor of chocolate, roasted malt, vanilla, whiskey, and caramel with a dry oak finish.

Bottle shared by alexsdad06. Poured black color with an average frothy brown head that mostly lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy dark toasted malt, alcohol and wood aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Moderate to heavy dark bittersweet flavor with a medium to heavy dark bittersweet finish of moderate to long duration. This is a complex standout beer.

Very dark brown pour, brown head. Sweet rye whiskey, charred oak, tahitian vanilla, cocoa powder, roasted malt. This drinks a lot like a big BA stout. Roast, chocolate, whiskey, toasted oak, vanilla. Damn fine beer. DAMN FINE! Thanks to dalzale for hooking me up with this.

The pour is very dark brown in color with a khaki head. A light roastiness followed by tons of whiskey, vanilla, caramel, and dark fruits. A really nice barrel aroma to this. A light oxidation on the palate, but really great barrel flavors. Whiskey, vanilla, caramel, and dark fruits. There’s a rather strong roasted malt note, and some spiciness of wood and rye.

Bottle @ Brad’s house Minneapolis, courtesy of bnielsen13. Thanks Brad! Pours a deep brown/black appearance with a small, light brown head and big alcohol legs. Really rich toffee and thick caramel, dark chocolate, somewhat boozy, vanilla, dessert-like aroma. Super fucking smooth, rich dark chocolate, toffee, turtle (caramel, pecan, chocolate), mild yet tasty whiskey, a bit of vanilla flavor with a super smooth finish and only a touch of booze. Wow, I’m really impressed with this. It’s super smooth for the abv (honestly, almost no hint of the booze) and just full of dessert notes. Fuck yeah.

Bottle for rating #4400:   Black pour, thin light beige head, decent lacing.   Assertive whiskey nose, graham cracker, vanilla, toffee, smells very nice!   Also getting a nice roastiness on the backside.   As it warms toasted coconut comes out.   Gets more and more complex as it warms.   Very warming on the tongue. This is a sipper.   Wished it were a little more chewy, but thankfully its not sticky given its sweetness.   Big roasty toasted coconut on the finish, warming to the max.   This was real impressive.   Thanks Bob for this gem!

On tap at SPSBF. Pours near black with a dark brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has some dark grains with caramel and bitter chocolate backed by some whiskey. Flavor is similar with dark grains and a bit of roast that is joined by bitter chocolate and caramel with a hint of sweetness from the barrel.

750ml bottle from Atom, thanks Adam! Pours a near black, very deep brown, ruby tinted body with a thin, creamy, dark brown head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing. Aroma is pretty damn good. Loaded with deep caramels and dark chocolates, but a really nice woody rye aspect behind the malts. A good amount of roasts, a light vanilla, some whiskey, toasted coconut, and a few dark fruits. Flavor is just as enjoyable. A light rye spiciness and wood up front with a big dark chocolate and caramel maltiness. Very rich and not cloying in the least bit. Some whiskey in the middle with a soft vanilla note, some dark fruits, and a bit of a toasted coconut. A good amount of roasts towards the end as the wood and whiskey increase a bit before this finishes rich and malty, but pretty dry and moderately bitter from a rye spiced, earthy, roasty bitterness. Warming, lengthy aftertaste following a medium-full, smooth body that never gets too chewy or boozy with a soft, light carbonation. Overall, a pretty impressive barleywine. Rich and complex with a really well balanced barrel character while hiding the big ABV% nicely. One of the better beers that I’ve had in awhile. Excellent.

750 ml bottle from Brandon. Pours a very dark brown/black color with a medium sized light tan head. The aroma has sweet caramel malts, cherry, vanilla, roast, chocolate, wood and some spicy whiskey notes. The flavor has a moderate level of sweetness, caramel, chocolate, cherry, vanilla, whiskey, wood; actually very stout like in its flavor. So smooth and the alcohol only serves to warm. This was a big surprise in a good way.