Sweetwater Donkey Punch!

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

22 ounce bottle courtesy of CrellMoset. Thanks! Dank Tank BP Barleywine Label. Pours a clear orange amber color with a thin head. Good head retention and lacing. Big citrus, resiny and herbal notes with lots of toffeeish caramel as well as peaches, pineapple and citrus. Taste is big citrusy and resiny hops with toffee and caramel notes. Something lightly cheesy in the finish. Full bodied. Very much like a good double IPA. Very enjoyable.

Light amber body with a thick, lush tan head. Intensely aromatic floral hoppiness with buzzing herbal hints. The flavor is exquisitely full of herbal hoppiness with piny overtones. This broaches the philisophical question of whether or not all DIPAs are just barleywines in the making that need to be aged a couple years. At the moment, this beer is an outstanding DIPA and in no way resembling a barleywine. I would love to try this aged after a couple years to enjoy its progression from one end of the style spectrum to the next.

Bottle. Labelled as Dank Tank, many thanks to Cheersmate! Pours deep amber, thick off-white head; big hops, sweet, definitely a IIPA nose, surprisingly heavy-handed with the pine/spruce aromatics. Palate is much more delicate, orange syrup, still supremely hoppy, but more in a perfumey way. Flowers, sweet malt, lingering finish.

Pours dark amber with a finger thick off white head. Nose and flavor are caramel and dark fruits with some bitter hops as well. Smooth mouthfeel.

Bottle 65 cl. Courtesy of kp. Comes as "Sweetwater Dank Tank #4". Slightly hazy amber golden with an off-white head. sweet citrus and caramel in the nose. Quite full-bodied with lots of caramel and roasted malts - some fruitiness also. Subdued bitterness. A delicious classic American Barley Wine. 110709

They have changed the name to Dank Tank. Evidently Donkey Punch offended someone.....probably someone that has been Donkey Punched! Pours a clear, burnt copper with a small off-white head. Not very impressed with the offering. Very similar in taste and appearance to Mendocino’s Talon. Anyway...caramel in the nose, fresh grapefruit, citrus peels and pine sap. Tends to lean toward a very young barley wine aroma profile or a IIPA. Flavor is bitter up front, and melts into a sweet, brown sugar and malt elixir. Good medium bodied brew. I thought the complexity was lacking and the overall appeal for me was weak from the first sip. Medium bodied elixir....very hoppy and definitely sweet. A good sipper but not overly fascinating. Seemed like an average, run-of-the-mill attempt to me. Nothing jumped out and slapped me in the face. Tasty but there are better.

Tap at Taco Mac. I liked the older version better. This one looked nice, amber pour...nice head. Aroma leans to the hoppy side while there is a fair amount of caramel and syrup in the nose. I prefer my BW’s a bit smoother and a little less hoppy. This one is still ncie though. Hops offer up a nice bite here and the caramel malt keeps it a bit balanced...but not enough for me.

Comes out of the bottle an appetizing clear copper, with a thinnish head that doesn’t stick around. Aroma is strong, fruity and yeasty. Flavor is more like a brandy than a beer, fruity with just an undertone of malt and hints of yeast and caramel. Texture is quite smooth with a strong alcohol nip.
Earlier Rating: 10/16/2007 Total Score: 4.8
It pours a translucent honey-brown with a nice head. Aroma is strong, quite hoppy, with an overtone of pine. Flavor is very hoppy but not overly bitter; there is a strong evergreen element and an undertone of hard apple cider. Thick, smooth, this is a beer for sipping rather than gulping. You have to pay attention to it! Another must for hop nuts.