Alpine Beer Company Great

Formerly brewed at Alpine Beer Company (CA)
Style: Barley Wine
Alpine, California USA

Bottle shared at fordest’s tasting thank you Dave (ibrew2or3) for sharing this hard to get gem. I liked the sour armomas, but determined by others that this shouldn’t be in there. Very good barleywine.

Bottle shared with Ibrew2or3. Thanks to Dave for coming all the way from Florida to share this Alpine beer with us. Brown pour with decent head. Very malty aromas. Pretty hot on the alcohol despite its age. Dusty earth like flavors. Not bitter on the finish at all. Pretty good stuff.

Tried at fordest’s tasting with ibrew2or3, fordest, padrefan98 toncatcher, and others. Next to the brewery, ibrew2or3 probably had the worlds largest stash of this: 3 bottles, now 2 after this tasting. He is holding the others for his son’s 21st birthday, since it was brewed in 2005. Great aroma of buttery oaked barrel. Amber color. Oxidized and a hint of sour. No hops bitterness. Alcohol is very well hidden. I think it is a bit over-the-hill, which is a little surprizing for a 15% beer, but I’m guessing ageability is heavily influence by how much O2 leaks into the bottle during botting, and then the temperature the beer is kept at. Also the hint of sour might indicate the beginning of a acetobacter infection. I’m probably wrong, but I’ve heard many beers contain very, very small quantities of dormant undesirable bacteria, often in the air on the surfaces of bottle caps, etc of the brewery. These bacteria lie dormant in the bottle until specific conditions arise for the bacteria to temporarily come to life, including the introduction of oxygen and excessive heat. I’m suspecting this. I want to give it a 3.5, but my numbers add up to 3.3. Nevertheless, I’m very, very happy to have the opportunity to try this rare gem. Thanks!

mesa gathering. provided by hopheadinaz. pours a crystal clear brewed tea color. aroma is really nutty, malty and raisin sweet. there’s also some soft wet pipe tobacco along with vanilla and stinging alcohol.flavor follows suit with the addition of lots of wood and a hoppy bite on the dry finish. it was not as sweet as expected..rather, it has a salty character. alcohol gets rather annoying and interferes with the complexity. thin bodied with little/soft carbonation.

Huge thanks to Ibrew2or3 for this one. Apparently he has pretty much the entire remaining stash of this beer on earth ;). Plum colored body, actually has a huge head for a Barley Wine. Resolves to soapy looking bubbles and then eventually a foam that never goes away. Good looking beer. Nose is very concentrated - and very hot - notes of plums, figs, raisins, rum soaked bread, tropical fruits, malts, some diacetyl and a huge amount of fusels. Stings the nostrils. I wonder if it’s made with real bits of panthers? Also some nice woody/earthy notes. The aroma is almost perfect if not for the huge amount of alcohol. Flavor follows suit, again very hot, but very tasty. Full, round palate, slightly sticky. Very woody tasting as well. The alcohol is too apparent, burns the tongue. Finish is medium length and sweet. Could easily use another 10-15 years to mellow out.

(sample from irishboy)bronze body with a quickly fading light brown head.nice vanilla,oak,caramel,malt,brown sugar,toffee,and orange aroma.i got much of the same in the flavor except for this strange "veggie" type afertaste.(maybe from the hops?)i must say the alcohol was well hidden and except for the strange aftertaste,it was pretty nice.

325ml bottle from KingO; Thanks Joey! 2007; Nose is woody, caramel, dark fruit and molasses; lightly hazed copper with a smalll glass-lacing beige head; flavor is very oaky wood; caramel, raisins, and a little hop bitterness. Alcohol was completely covered at 15%. Underated!

On draught at O’Briens. Clear brown garnet, with a large but quickly dissipating beige head. Sweet vanilla aroma, brown sugar and molasses, alcohol, a little brandy and some floral notes. Woo, this is a hot beer! Flavor is heavy with alcohol, whisky, dark fruity malts and wood are evident as well. Full body and gentle carbonation. This one might improve with age and mellowing, but right now it’s a little too alcoholic for my tastes.