3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20Bottle: Deep caramel, reddish hues, fairly thick and hazy, moderate frothy sand colored head, mediocre lacing. Sweet malty nose, very slight vanilla and oak. Some aspects of caramel and over ripened cherries. Somewhat spritzy on the tongue, young, but not overly green. Not that much of a malt bomb as I had thought based on the nose. Very soft caramel malts, slight astringency too. Hop bitterness is mild but apparent. While not that hop oriented, it seems somewhat green. Body and mouthfeel are moderate, a little spritzy and airy however. The malts don’t carry this beer through. A little thin on the exit. Great nose, great start, but falls short on the backside. Stil quite enjoyable, with the Whiskey aspect being noticeable but quite minor overall. Warming at least, without any real hint of the 9% ABV. As it warms it just seems to lose its weight and mouthfeel. Good, but this one could be oh soo much better. Thanks Paul for the bottle!
4.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
A 2007 care of Brewtopia!! Cheers mang!! Unbelievable nose of brandy whiskey pears and peaches. Initial taste is light pear into vanilla finishing with a long thin woody taste. Nastiness lingers lightly on the side of the palate with a round sweet vanilla taste. Amazing that the bottle conditioning is spot on for a 6 year old BA’d BW. Cheers Brewtopia!!!
3.6 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle shared at a recent BA/RB tasting... Poured deep, amber/brownish-orange with a thin head. Oak and whiskey on the nose. Quite a bit of booze coming through on this one. Toasted, caramel malts. Wood, oak, big barrel characters. Finished with some alcohol heat.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
This has to be from 2007. Clear amber pour with a short lived white head. Aroma is toffee, light vanilla, and light bourbon. No signs of oxidation Which was surprising to my delight. But overall a good bw but, not a great example of a barrel aged one.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle, with much thanks to Dmac. Pours out a slightly cloudy reddish brown color with a big off white head. Carbonation has held up very well for how old this bottle is. Aroma is toffee, caramel, oak, and some bourbon, with a slight trace of age. Taste is complex with caramel, toffee, light bourbon, oak, vanilla, some sweet fruity notes, only a slight tell of the age or alcohol content. Very solid.
4.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
UPDATED: MAY 6, 2011 750 ml cork and caged bottle purchased at Capones a long long time ago. Poured a murky orange/dark amber body with a thick huge fluffy light beige head with serious lasting power. Aroma was awesome with notes of caramel, molasses, toffee, vanila, barrel and a slight hint of whiskey once this one warmed up. Flavor had the whiskey far more pronounced then the aroma. Additionally there was some vanilla, toffee, caramel, molasses, bread and rye. Shocked at how much carbonation was in the palate especially considering this is a several year old bottle of barrel aged barleywine. Great stuff and glad I saved this for an occasion beer.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle - thanks Toby! Pours a deep amber color with a creamy rusty/beige head. Nose is a smooth blend of caramel malt and bourbon barrel. Heavily carbonated (one helluva loud popping of the cork) leads to a bit of a prickly feeling on the tongue at first. Drier caramel malts up front with some light toffee. The barrel aging really mellows out the middle and tail. Lightly dry, but still sweet finish. Nice.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
750mL bottle, looks to be late ’06/early ’07. Poured translucent garnety-amber with a creamy cap of beige head. The aroma picked up aged, toasted toffee, caramel, and redder fruits.. soft whiskey sugars laced throughout that were very complementary.. age mellowed this out almost to a fault, but I dug it. The flavor found warm, aged caramel at the core, again with complementary whiskey.. vanilla-infused fruits emanated outward.. dry toffee and brown sugar joined in at the finish, along with a touch of oak tartness. Medium-bodied with low, but rolling carbonation on the palate.. spicier as it warmed up, but it sure stayed soft and smooth.. not spectacular, but nothing to complain about.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle shared by someone - don’t remember who - at DLD. Thanks to whoever it was.
Pours a clear medium reddish-brown color with a small off-white head.
Aroma is very nice: sweet caramel malts, brown sugar, oak, whiskey, and slight fruity notes.
Flavor is also great. Way better than the non-bal aged version, but then again, what isn’t? Barrel aging is the best invention since...I don’t know...the Sun or something. Sweet caramel malts and toffee - but not too sweet - with brown sugar, candied dates, coconut, oak, whiskey, and vanilla. Very complex. Just the right amount of barrel.
Medium-full bodied with a smooth mouthfeel and medium-low carbonation.
A great barrel-aged barleywine overall. I am impressed, Stoudt’s.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Clear brown pour. Aroma dominated by whiskey, creamy and vanilla. Smooth malty flavor with lots of whiskey. Vanilla and some spicy, almost peppery notes.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
From a growler I got at Capones, took forever for them to fill it, which reduced the carbonation. Pours a deep transparent amber with a very thin head that disappears quickly. Smells sweet and malty, with alcohol and a touch of sweet fruit. Taste has lots of malt, with a decent whiskey barrel flavor that doesn’t swamp the beer. There’s also some chocolate and alcohol in there. Has a pleasant bitter finish that’s not too harsh.
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