Alaskan Barley Wine Ale (Big Nugget)

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

22 oz bottle, via 5000. Pours a beautiful garnet red body with a great tight bubbled beige head. Very light lazy carbonation. Nice big full nose of juicy citrus hops and heavy toasted and caramel malt. Super well balanced, smells like a great candidate for aging. Wow, the flavor is just as well balanced. Big but not overpowering hops, full thick caramel malt without being sticky. A little retro-nasal alcohol fumes, but not a whole lot of alcohol flavor. This might be the best West Coast Barley Wine ever. Never crosses the line into Double IPA, just an aggressively hoppy Barley Wine. Mouthfeel is just about perfect, full bodied but not cloying or sweet. Perfect soft super-fine carbonation, just enough to keep it lively but not fizzy or thinning. Overall, this was just a dream for me, tailored just to my tastes . Delicious stuff!

This was a fantastic barleywine. Nice and balanced and a great treat to have for the cooler months.

22oz bottle 2007 vintage sampled at An Evening with Pantanap #4. Pours a mahogany brown with a beige head. Aromas are slightly muted and barely perk up as it warms to reveal caramels, toffee, and hops. Lots of fruit and malt flavors. Red fruits, caramel, toffee. Sweet but balanced with charred malts and fruity hops in the finish. Good beer, but I expected a little more.

22oz bottle. 2007 vintage. sampled at P4 and shared by holdenn, pours dark ruby with beige creamy head. a malty aroma with alcohol and toffee. i was expecting more hops in the nose. flavors are malty, tobacco, toffee, grapefruit hop notes. pretty nice but i think it could use a few years of age.

bottle thanks to holdenn for sharing at P4...... pours a dark caramel brown with a thin film of light brown head.... aroma of dark fruit and lots of caramel malt.... it tended to be a little hot and had a heavy emphasis on the caramel malt. it finished a little bit on the bitter side....this one could use a little age to make it better.

Bottle from Cornboys 2nd Barleywine blind. Pouurs a murky brown with a good sized(for a BW) tan head. Aroma of raisin, brown sugar and caramel. Flavor is even sweeter then the aroma lets on and finishes very dry.

Courtesy of OldMrCrow. Pours a cloudy reddish brown with a slight head. Aroma is mostly vanilla and caramel. Tastes of caramel, wood, nut, and a bit of malt. Finishes with a nice alcohol presence. The palate is mostly sugary and spicy. Thanks Carl.

Poured a lightly hazy, red-amber color with a small, off white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of caramel malts, vanilla, dried fruits, oak, some floral, and citrus, with a bit of alcohol. Taste of much of the same, with nuts, and a bit more alcohol in the finish.