Back Road No. 9 Barleywine

Brewed by Back Road Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
LaPorte, Indiana USA

Appearance: Pours a lightly hazy, dark amber body with a small, wispy, white head. Smell: Earthy caramel malt aroma with notes of citrus-scented soap. Taste: Sweetish caramel maltiness with an extra dose of sugar. Citrus hop presence with a touch of good, clean soap. Medium-high bitterness. Finishes bittersweet with a touch of alcohol. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: A basic barleywine that’s basically good.

Pours a hazy amber color with a white head. Aroma is malty, caramel, soapy, and some citrus hops. Flavor is malty, caramel, a hint of soap, and a bitter sweet citrus finish.

12 oz bottle courtesy of BBB63. Pours a hazy orange caramel with a small beige head. Aroma of caramel, dates, brown sugar, and faint citrus hops. Taste of caramel, toffee, figs, dates, brown sugar and citrus hops. Has a bread dough finish. Very good.

12oz. bottle, 2005 vintage courtesy of tjthresh. Big, sweet, malty aroma, full of brown sugar and caramel, with lighter notes of dried, leafy herbs, toasted bread, fig, hop spice, some doughy, lightly musty yeast touches and a hint of oaked sherry. Hazy dark red-brown color, bottle-conditioned, with a fine and slight but intricate head. Flavor is a strong blend of gradually increasing bitterness, dark, sugary malts, dried fruit, peppery spiciness and alcoholic warmth. Long, lingering, bitter and spicy finish, drying out somewhat before the end. Mouthfeel is thin, sticky and still generously effervescent, body is hugely full. After around two years in the cellar, this seems to have started to mellow somewhat. Suitably big and bold, if not the most complex rendition.

12 oz. bottle from tjthresh. Pour is a slightly hazy orange amber with only a small trace amount of a head. Aroma is sweet caramel malt, herby hops and a bit of earthiness. Taste is the doughy, yeasty, caramel malt of a good barley wine. A bit of muted orange citrus in the finish. Absolutely no alcohol hotness ot this one. Nice Barley Wine, though seemed to lost some of its structure as it warmed. Thanks for bringing this one back Tom!

Bottle. Thanks to tjthresh for sending me this. Poured a clear orange body with thin head. Aroma is of caramel, hops, spices. Very hoppy flavor, lots of caramel, low malt profile. Many things you don’t expect to see and a taste as a Barleywine. Odd brew but not a bad beer. Odd mouthfeel.

Served in a snifter, this has a reddish chestnut body with a large creamy head that coats the glass in sheets of lace. The aroma is mainly sweet toffee and alcohol (this yeasr’s abv being 9.1%) backed up by molasses and a mild earthy bitterness. The flavor matches the aroma, the exception being that the hop bitterness is more of a citrus zest. Not complex, but tasty.

<font size=-4>On tap at the <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Floyds Brewpub, Munster, IN.<font size=-1>

12oz btl, 2001 vintage. Thanks to Al Reitz at Downtown Wine & Spirits in Somerville, MA for the bottle, he is such a nice guy. This one really held its own during a long slumber, definitely properly cellared. Pours clear amber, mostly diminishing head with orange hues. Big hops in the aroma, spicy too. A caramel malt profile that seems to back it up. Smooth, medium to full bodied palate. More caramel malt resides in the flavor. Potent hops bring in a resounding dry finish. This aged very well, quite quaffable.