3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/2022oz bottle, purchased at City Beer Store. Pours a dark, cola-brown color; significant, creamy light-tan head with good retention and lacing. Lots of cola, brown sugar, raisins and dates in the aroma; malty and generous but without stickiness; biscuity malts and lots of toffee character; some solid balancing earthy and floral hop bitterness; just a lovely English-style Barley Wine aroma. Medium-to-full body: significant amounts of caramel, toffee, and brown sugar present; earthy and floral hop character plays second fiddle; average levels of carbonation, with a pleasant creaminess; rich toffee- and caramel-centric malt profile, lots of biscuity notes - a very pleasant, clear rendition of the style. I can’t see this aging for significant amounts of time: at least, this drinks beautifully right now, with perfect balance, and the nuttiness and the soft caramel notes would only become further mellowed and dampened with further oxidation or sherry character; so drink up (at least in my mind), kiddies. Lasting finish of caramel, nuttiness, and soft brown sugar; balanced ending.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Pours ruby reddish brown with a small off white head. The nose is high sweet low bitter as a hint of tart. The texture is smooth and creamy, the body is heavy and finish is long.
---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bomber from City Beer a couple years back. Massive pour, garnet and bedecked with an admirable, silky head. Softy nutty and malty nose along with deep boozy sweetness, no aggression but simply an elegant warmth. Mouthfeel perhaps ever so slightly sticky but that’s no demerit given the emphatic, unapologetic style here. A massive, uncompromising but very well rendered English BW. Enjoyed it.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
bottle i had a sample from during a blind barleywine tasting .. . light brandy .. light mouth .. . deep fruit .. . deep copper brown .. mild foam .. . enjoyable .. . . I think I heard somewhere that cows like being killed.
3.6 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
22 oz. bottle from wavers1. Pours brown with a medium sized beige head. The aroma was caramel, dark fruits, and some spicy herbal notes. The flavor had brown sugar, caramel, dark fruits with an emphasis on dates and raisins. There is still some heat with this even though I sat on it for a bit. Syrupy mouth feel. Good but a touch unbalanced.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
6th October 2010
Hazy dark brown beer, residual tan head. Semi soft and semi dry palate. Aniseedy dark toffee and a rumour of orange hop. That’s pretty much it but it’s a drinkable beer.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle shared by alexsadad06. Poured yellow orange in color with an average white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate to heavy sweet malt aroma. Moderate to heavy smooth texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy sweet flavor to medium sweet finish of moderate duration. My expectations where met with a complex beer.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle to snifter (thanks, alexsdad06). Looks decent; a little thin though. Smells sweet and caramel. Tastes pretty good; hoppy for a barleywine. Mouthfeel is good. Enjoyable.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
An old favorite. I can’t believe I never rated this one, and am very sad it’s retired. Hopefully some of the new High Water barley wines will be as good. It pours a dark ruddy brown with a small beige head. The aroma is still pretty hot after some time with nice notes of raisins, toffee, molasses, maple syrup and hints of cocoa. The flavor sweet up front with maple syrup, raisins, fig, and more balanced on the back end with some toasted malt, nuts and earthy bitterness. The alcohol is still very much present but not too overbearing. The body is full but not too thick or sticky. A really nice drinkable barley wine.
3.5 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Pours amber in color with an off-white head. A pleasant sourness that has a nice fruity, almost strawberry, aroma to it. Some hints of hay and oak as well as a touch of vinegar. There still is a fair amount of sweet malt and toffee notes with a hint of vinegar. The flavor has a mild bourbon character to it as well as some vanilla and brown sugar and toffee sweetness. Light to moderate tartness of vinegar, underripe fruits, and strawberries. Surprisingly good.
Earlier Rating: 5/11/2010 Total Score: 4.1
A: The pour is a dark mahogany color with a creamy khaki colored head.
S: There are plenty of caramel, toffee, brown sugar, and maybe even some molasses. The ubiquitous dark fruits also come into play and seem to be in the form of figs, raisins, and plums, along with a non-dark fruit: banana.
T: The dark, caramelized sugar flavors are the most up-front. As with the nose, a lot of brown sugar and toffee here. The light banana character is present, as are the plums and figs. A bit of alcohol warmth, but not hot by any means.
M: The body is on the full side, as you might expect, with a low, smooth carbonation and some warming alcohol.
D: Despite the barleywine moniker, this is a very easy to drink beer. The alcohol is nicely hidden and the sweetness is well balanced, despite a noticeable lack of hop flavor and aroma.
3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
bottle... medium brown with a light tan head, not much to see... the aroma is pleasant enough but on he hoppier side, a little caramel... the taste is too bitter, weird aftertaste, wasn’t a big fan of his, hard to finish my 5oz pour
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