Back Road No. 9 Barleywine

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

Strong, sweet, sugary, nutty aroma with solventy strong alcohol and some notes of nail polish remover. Opaque tan-brown body with low, off white head that recedes to ring. Marzipan, nutty and lightly roasty flavour with occasional notes of alcohol apparent. Mild warming to the medium body with moderate carbonation. Bottle sampled with MartinT and Olivier_MTL.

Couleur ambrée et nuageuse aux reflets orangés surmontés d’une faible mousse dotées de grosses bulles savonneuses. Arômes de foin et de grain semblant d’origine Allemande, de levure et de caramel. Flaveurs simples de sucre brun, de caramel et d’alcool sur une des houblons apparaissent comme cireux. L’alcool est assez évident et détaché du reste des flaveurs, apportant une touche s’appareillant à certains solvants. Corps d’épaisseur semi mince, texture alcoolique semblant plutôt mince pour le style. Loin d’être un exemple satisfaisant du style.

The Lure:
Earthy yeast walking casually through a meringue. Caramel attempts to unite, and sometimes succeeds. Strong alcohol wafts hit sporadically.

The Festivities:
Fruity caramel evokes maple syrup, but dissolves into raw brown sugar too quickly. Citrusy candy furtively spans the round mouthfeel, not exactly agreeing with what they see. Not complex, but nonetheless enjoyable if you have no other barley wine available.

Transcendence:
A forgotten vehicle, still ready to rev its engines.

Courtesy of BBB63. Pours dirty orange with very little head. Aroma has liots of caramel with slight alcohol presence. Very oily body. Flavor is all caramel with some citrus hops in the finish. Little tweaking and this would be a damn good barleywine.

Bottle: Dirty caramel, quite dark, moderately sized off-white head, somewhat frothy, spotty lacing.   Definite alcohol nose, otherwise notes of carmel, citrus, and hops, but they are all somewhat biting, or sharp.   Heavy caramel maltiness, sweet, but with an alcohol sting that lingers.   No date on the bottle, but it could stand to sit a bit longer me things.   Big body, but mouthfeel is fairly moderate.   Lots of alcohol in the finish, unfortunately, and lacking in robustness at the end.   Decent, but the sharpness detracts.   Thanks Mike!

Bottle: Courtesy of BBB63. Rather fruity aroma with some light caramel and a touch of pine. Pours a hazy reddish-orange with a small white head that quickly fades to a ring. Lots of caramel in the flavor with a light fruitiness and a hint of citrus. Moderately hoppy finish.

Many a thanks to BBB63 for this bonus beer. Color is a nice murky orange with a soft creamy head on top. Aroma is a nice strong malt and citrus blend. Flavor is very nice. Starts you with the expected hefty malt, then a very sweet middle and an somewhat nutty end. Even gives me a tastey citrus aftertaste. Palate is rather gentle for the 9%, but it is a bit noticable.

Cloudy beer A bit too much alcohol.. not enough malt to balance it. Plan on aging the rest of the 6 pack.