Sweetwater Donkey Punch!

Brewed by Sweetwater Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Serve in Snifter

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In short: A mega-hoppy fruity barley wine that feels like a buttery Triple IPA. Good.
How: Bottle 22oz. Consumed fresh soon after purchase. Tasting session with Montreal crew
The look: Slightly cloudy dark orange body topped by a ring of foam
In long: Nose is mega-hoppy, lots of fruity hops esters, mostly citrus fruits. Taste has lots of caramel, round and chewy. Lots of fruity hops with flavour of citrus fruits and marmalade. Non aggressive fruity bitter finish. Well balanced. Comes through as a Triple IPA more than a barley wine. Simple but effective flavour spectrum. It could have been very good but it looses points because I was getting a light but annoying buttery flavour. All in all it was just good with the potential to be very good. It’s a Donkey Punch and it doesn’t kick ass. Logical.

Bottle 75cl. w. swing top @ LCRBM09 - Low Countries RateBeer Meeting V, Kulminator, Antwerpen, Belgium.
Clear dark orange amber color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, caramel, moderate fruit hoppy. Flavor is light heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft, finish feel is moderate alcoholic. [20090905]

Got to try a bomber of this recently. Colour... medium gold with no head. Nose... sweet with plenty of tropical fruits and toffee. Palate... light CO2, dried stone fruits, Medjool dates, a coating quality and a long finish.

Bottle courtesy of bhalter8. Pours a clear amber with thin white head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of floral hops, caramel, light citrus. Flavor is sweet and floral with notes of honey, citrus, grapefruit, caramel. Medium body with a floral hop finish. More like a DIPA than a barleywine.

A Mes rate. Bottle at LCRBM #5.
Hazy amber coloured with a thin off white head. Rather sweet all round with lots of caramel. Deep chewy malt with a bit of balance from some nice fruity hoppage. Bitter citric finish with a drying feel and an alcoholic aftertaste. Decent beer.

I have had both versions of this (beer). The original Donkey Punch! and now the DP. The first time this beer was offered in came in a 1 Liter swing-top, now it is a Dank Tank Series, (Red Label). Bours a light amber color, nice tan head. A bit of alcohol in the nose, nice malt. A nice offering of caramelized fruit sugars. Flavor has a lot of caramel in there, nice malt. Finishes with a well balanced hop bitterness. Bold grapefruit. Nice. ABV is well hidden, I ma have this a bit too cold. Very well done.

Opaque apricot colored pour with a boozy aroma, this poured with a very small head. The flavor has some sticky sweetness with hops in the background.

Thanks kiefdog for the share. Pours gold amber with a white head. Nose is malt, hops, raisins, more hops, sugar, fruitiness, and more hops. Flavor is very similar with lots of hopiness and some maltiness. Overall a decent barleywine, but not something I would seek out; seemed a bit unbalanced and uberhoppy, but not in a Stone way.

22 ounce bottle is labeled Dank Tank DP Barleywine. Pours a hazed orange body with a creamy eggshell head. Aroma has a huge tropical fruit component, with tangerines, mango, and pineapple. Earthy, grassy, and pine hop notes join in. Medium full body has a low medium carbonation. Taste mirrors the aroma, with waves of tropical fruit notes. Pineapple, tangerine, and orange marmalade impart a sinful exuberance. Earthy and pine hops add ample bitterness. Waves of caramel weave in and out from start to finish. Well balanced, overall. If i were tasting this one blind I might think it was a big DIPA.

Pours a very dark amber/chestnut brown with some dark ruby edges when held to a light source and a frothy, soapy off white head with excellent retention that only slowly fades to a lasting ring that leaves soapy rings of chunky lacing. Earthy floral hop aroma with a big citrus presence as well as some sweet alcohol and leathery earthy malt. This smells surprisingly very hoppy for the style but still has the musty malt aroma of an American barleywine. Very hop forward with a lot of bitter earthy and floral notes up front. Earthy, leathery malt body with some caramel and nut notes. Strong alcohol warmth in the finish Nice citrus peel presence from the hops, mostly orange peel and grapefruit. There is also a nice dry piny note from the insane amount of hops used. This is probably the hoppiest barleywine I’ve had yet and the excellent sweet and dry bitter hops balance out the strong ABV and musty, leathery malt notes. As mentioned above there is some nice alcohol warmth in the finish but the ABV is pretty well masked. Very complex with a lot of great hoppy flavor. Pretty drinkable but should definitely be approached as a sipper.