Anchor Old Foghorn Ale

Brewed by Anchor Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
San Francisco, California USA

12oz bottle. early 2005 vintage. pours murky brown with off white head. aroma has some oxidized notes of port, vegetal, and paper around the edges. flavors are a bit rough around the edges, dark fruits/port, cardboard, licorice, and slightly vegetal. pretty one dimensional. not a barleywine to age although not horrible at all. i’ll re-rate a fresh bottle some day.

ON tap at Lucky Baldwins. Clear copper red with a fizzy white head. Aroma of toffee and mild spice and similar taste. A pretty basic barley wine.

2008 Bottle - Aroma of hop flowers and caramel malt, initial flavour is sticky sweet dried fruit and metal. I had a fun time trying to identify all of the individual fruit nuances I noticed...banana, citrus, raisin. The metallic-ness goes away eventually, but the burn doesn’t. Has a bit of fire, I would have much rather drank this while it was colder outside...

12 ounce bottle- caramel is the dominant theme of this ale. It poured out a darker, caramel color with a thin but long lasting head. Aroma was sweet caramel, and the taste was heavy raisins and caramel. Kind of thin on the palate compared to a true barley wine. Not bad at all, would make a nice finish to a heavy meal. A good belly warmer.

12oz in sifter. Very thick. Starts off sweet ends with hoopy bitterness. This was my first barley wine ale, and I am a fan.The alcohol creeps up- after 3 bottles I was feeling it. I would have liked to see a thicker head, but there is not a lot of carbonation in this brew. I guess thats why it has "wine" in its name. Not cheap- I paid $13 for a sixer but it was worth it.

One of my favorite barleywines in past years. Rich and thick on the palate with some sticky maltiness, that coats your whole mouth with a type of complexity that is different upon each and every sip. Nice caramelized brown sugar sweetness, with some cinnamon, and some dried figs as well. All in moderation, the alcohol is quite balanced as well.

2006 bottle from OldStyleCubFan, who sent me this nice bonus right off my want list. Straightforward brown color, a little cloudy, with a small, stubborn head that reminded me somewhat of the Roch 10 I had before. Aroma is brown sugar and taste is brown sugar, dark fruits and a good level of bitterness.

12 oz. bottle served in a snifter. Pours a amber reddish color with a thick white head and sptty, lasting lace. Nose is sweet malt & brown sugar. Palate is thick, chewy and heavy. Low carbonation. Nice sweet brew with flavors of carmalized brown sugar and candied figs/dates. Alcohol is noticable, but not distracting.