flatmatt (74), Northville, Michigan, USA
Jun 1, 2008
22 oz. bottle. Pours a red amber with a small to medium white head. Aroma is not very strong, but is fruity and sweet with some alcohol and some light honey aromas. Taste is spicy and hoppy with significant grapefruit and bitterness, along with a significant alcohol presence and some more fruity and caramel flavors, which all work together fairly well after the first couple sips. Palate’s a bit watery, but still solid. Definitely grows on you as you drink more of it.
 502Flavors (220), Kentucky, USA
Aug 27, 2008 bomber into wine glass for lack of a snifter. Pours a thick dark amber color with a good off-white head. Aromas of dough booze and hops. The flavor was boozy with strangely muted flavors. Medium to heavy bodied on the palate - soft carbonation. Overall: hot and worthy of age. Showed some serious promise though.
nearbeer (1224), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Aug 23, 2008 650 ml, early 2008 release. Clear orange-copper with a small, but enduring head that leaves a slight soapy lace behind. Aromas of resin, orange, earthy molasses and honeycomb. Flavor starts with orange and molasses, turns more to resin-citrus and shows flavors of oak, peppery evergreen, alcohol, cherries, berries and citrus-honeycomb. Medium-heavy body is smooth with a nice balance between thin and syrupy, and is warming and dryish. Quality and complexity are evident already, but a bit harsh with hops at this stage; probably should cellar a year or two.
Beerded_one (1580), Croydon, Pennsylvania, USA
Aug 23, 2008 Bottle. Pours a rich amber color with a thin off-white head. Aroma is hoppy with caramel, fruit, light pine, and some citrus. Flavor is caramel malt, fruitness, warm alcohol and a hint of toffee with a medium bitter finish
TOSG55 (24), Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Aug 18, 2008 Bottle. 2008 vintage. Pours a cloudy orange with a thin head that dissipates fairly quickly. Aroma of caramel malts and sharp alcohol. The flavor is caramel/toffee malts, with a sharp hop bitterness and alcohol bite. This beer does not have the complexity of malt flavors that is present in most other good barley wines. Good, but not great.
canary dog (376), Rutland, Vermont, USA
Aug 17, 2008 Yet another strong barleywine that features heavily in the alcohol department, and rather lightly in overall taste and complexity. I really don’t know how to judge these beers; they are simply not my type. It just gets to a point where if you want to drink something with that much alcohol, get a good bottle of red wine instead. These high alcohol levels are the domain of wine, not beer.
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