Yo-Ho Yona Yona Barley Wine 2002 & 2005

Formerly brewed at Yo-Ho Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Nagano, Japan

Serve in Snifter

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(12oz bottle, 2002 vintage) Pours a cloudy orangish brown body with a yellowish off-white head. Aroma of toffee, cherry, bread, raisins, and maple syrup. Flavor of caramel malt, breadiness, raisins, and nuts.

Draught at Popeye, Tokyo. Clear deep red/amber - white head. Rubber, dried fruits, fruity, berries, red berries, sharpness, lovely hoppy, resin, bitterness. Lovely.

UPDATED: NOV 25, 2007 Name: Barley Wine
Date: 12/03/2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Strong Ale fest, 2005
Vintage: 2002

hazy amber, almost headless, sweet winey aroma with a hint of earthy hops, lots of carmel sweetness in the aroma, rich malt flavor, good balancing bitterness
-------- /> Name: Barley Wine
Date: 11/13/2006
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2002
Score: ii to ii+
Words: rare beer club

clear dark red, whispy beige head, bits of lace, sweet candy malt aroma with graham crackers, creamy body, rich malt flavor, lots of caramel sweetness, nice long bitter finish, a touch of alcohol shows after a while
-------- /> Name: Barley Wine
Date: 03/12/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2002

showing a bit thin, still a lot of balanced sweetness, can’t be aging this quick,
-------- /> Name: Barley Wine
Date: 11/16/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2002

picking up some sweet vanilla and oak in the aroma, thinness in the body is persisting, caramel sweetness is fading in the flavor, still hot, lots of lasting bitterness

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+/4

Bottle, 70cl(?). 2005 vintage. Pours a slightly unclear, dark golden body with a small, beige head on top. Piney, resiny, slightly citrusy aroma with a nice malty sweetness to balance it. Caramel. It has a little warming feeling on the palate, with the flavors being on the hoppy side, with resin, pine and citrus. Still, there’s enough malty caramel-sweetness to prevent it from going completely out of balance. Bitter, resiny and warming finish. A delicious treat, and a nice experience drinking it with it’s creator. (080811)

UPDATED: NOV 26, 2006 (2002 vintage, 12oz bottle) Hazy amber body with the slightest amount of an off-white head. Aroma is moderately sweet, raisin/date, caramel, some orange, maple. Taste is moderately sweet, caramel, maple, plum/raisin, some candied orange, light grapefruit. Some smoke in the finish that complements the other flavors very nicely. Medium-full body with some stickiness, very drinkable.

Bottle (2002)... Cloudy orange ale with a small, fizzy, white head. Earthy, sweet and caramelly aroma with a pleasant olfactory nip of centennial and nugget hop goodness. The flavor is all about caramel sweetness with sufficient bitterness to keep the malt in check. Full-bodied and syrupy with soft carbonation. Mostly sweet, very lightly bitter finish. Bottle courtesy of kp!

Bottle courtesy of argo0, thanks! Nice amber color. Aroma of caramel. Taste is also caramel. Not bad. Straightforward.

2002 Bottle acquired in trade with jpm74 (thanks!). Tastes side x side with the 2003 Vintage. Poured a deeper orange color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of toffee, nuts, lighter dark fruits, and light citrus. Tastes of toffee, caramel, dark fruits, and nuts. There are definitely noticeable differences in the 2 years with the aromas coming out more in the ’02 vs. the flavors coming out in the ’03.

Bottle 2002 vintage poured a hazy amber with a lingering ring of white foam. Aromas of sherry, carmel, toffee, plum, raisin and light earthiness. Palate was medium bodied and smooth with a dry finish. Flavors of carmel, toffee, sherry, dark fruit and light earthiness with a smooth dry lingering malty finish.

2002 Vintage Yellowish head, fast dwindled to rim over foxy red-to-amber beer. Very nice, deep & complex nose of cakey malts, and good, noble but restrained USA hops. Like a freshly baked caked, put into the fridge for keeping. Fruity notes with grapes, plums, a dash of mandarine and Marssala. Ends with something of seaweed (the Nippon touch?) Short very bitter taste, leaning over to overroasted cake, switching back to serious, nearly metallic hoppiness. Well bodied, very slick, slightly oily or even buttery. Ends with a wee bit of burning. Aftertaste is fruity-bitter: bitter melon, orangezeste and sugar-jellied fruitjuice with a dash of ginger. Remarkable beer seen its origin. Then again, has Nippon ever failed to equalize the best foreign examples? BIG thanks to Warren & Bill for this rare gem.