Alaskan Barley Wine Ale (Big Nugget)

Brewed by Alaskan Brewing Co
Style: Barley Wine
Juneau, Alaska USA

Bottle at post Borefts BF 09 tasting. Clear red amber colour lasting beige head. Lovely toffee on aroma. Mmm, lovely, warming toffee, just the right side of hoppy sweet warming toffee. Lovely. Could have drunk all day long.

( 22oz bottle thanks to ericandersnavy) Pours brown/ruby with good lacing and oily bubbles. Nose of sweet caramel, roasted malt and absolutely delicious. Taste is sweet toasted caramel, nice hops on the finish and almost perfectly balanced. Just a little syrupy but with a nice smoky/roasted linger on the palette.

Bottle I brought at pilsnerpeter’s. Thanks to everybody for their generosity. Amber with ring. Cinnamon clove orange caramel aroma. Caramel fruit spice mild alcohol flavors, syrupy, not bitter. Not sure what I was expecting, but this was disappointing.

Bottle: Deep copper pour with good clarity and a strong tan film of head. Sweet yet cohesive aroma. Sherry, caramelized brown sugar, spicy hop notes giving off a spearmint character. Slick body with a similar flavor. Thick yet not cloying with a huge crystal malt body, evident residual caramelized sugars yet it’s balanced by a huge resiny and minty hop presence. A balanced giant- yet lacking subtlety. Perhaps age will do this well.

Bottle from Malrubius at Peter’s tasting. I was sadly disappointed with this. Sweet, band-aid and diaper aroma. Very banana-y and flat, lifeless. Flatish, weird, medical supply flavor, kind of hard to describe but this didn’t work for me at all. I’d like to give this one another shot.

Bomber. Deep,reddish-copper colored body is clear with an yellow-tan head of small stature that does not lace. Mouth is full with weak-but-soft, creamy carbonation in a sticky liquid. Syrupy sweet aroma of cotton candy, and a sickening amount of roasted caramel malts with a nice complement of floral and pine hops with a touch of citrus and esters. Very sweet in the direction of clover honey, roasted caramel, followed by roast, ester-based borderline overripe fruity goodness, a citrus-pine-floral hop profile, warming, with rather invisible alcohol if taken in small sips. A larger sip or "gulp" will reveal a pine-infused alcohol harshness. Cloying in nose and mouth, sticky on the lips, rich, sweet.

Bottle of the 2008 at Peter’s tasting thanks to Mike. Pours a just clear ruby hued brown with remnants of a beige head. Plum and prune, old malt, and a hint of nail polish remover. Citrus, malt, prune and plum. Finishes with some light caramel.

bman1113vr surprise me with this bottle in person. 2008 bottle. poured a deep amber/ruby with a beige head. aroma was caramel, dark fruits, and some cinnamon. flavor was the same with the addition of alcohol. nice full body with a slick feeling that coats the tongue. nice treat....thanks andrew.