Baladin Xyauyù Etichetta Rame (Copper Label)

Brewed by Le Baladin
Style: Barley Wine
Piozzo, Italy

Bottle brewed in 2004. Fruit, musty fermantation and medium alcohol. Orange/cloudy copper body with no head to speak of, but most don’t. Apple fruit with a good caramel crystalization to the body texture. Alcohol not a factor although has a mild to medium body warming effect. Smooth on the palate with sweet fruity aftertaste. Good brew.

Smells in between a red wine and a port. This interesting, a nice sweet beer that doesn’t seem to exhibit too much alcohol. I like.

500mL bottle, generously supplied by acrdz, Friday at BCTC. Thanks, Mike! Pours a murky, orange-amber color; minimal light-tan head. Loads of dense, chewy caramel, dried dark fruits, and intense brown sugar; boozy, sugary, hugely brown sugared and tea-infused nose. Full mouthfeel: intense brown sugar, oily caramel, maple syrup, and boozy alcohol in the mouth; paint thinner; enormous, sticky, boozy beer; loads of brown sugar. Huge finish: loads of brown sugar, sticky sweetness, and chewy caramel.

2005 Bottle Vintage; Sampled January 2009
A wine bottle that, unsurprisingly, has no carbonation. As I pour this beer notes of sherry and prunes are noticeable. The beer has not head and has a deep, dark-red / purple-plum color with a touch of brown around the edges. When held up to the light the beer shows a clear, bright ruby hue, but there is a ton of floaties in the beer, despite resting comfortably for at least a month. This has lots of fruity notes that are reminiscent of Brandy (dark grape notes, concentrated berry notes and a jam-like red wine character). There is a nutty note here as well as the soft sherry notes, but I wouldn’t say that this is overly oxidized; it is a very impressively smooth oxidation. The alcohol provides some warming to the nose.

The beer is quite sweet. It finishes with a solid fruitiness that reminds me of Port. Flavors of prunes, raisins, dried blackberries, . In the finish there seems to be a touch of herbal hops and a faint bitterness that doesn’t really become noticeable in the finish until long after the beer has left my mouth (giving a chance for the sweet fruit notes to die down a bit). Thee is a light nuttiness and a hint of sherry, but this was a bit more prominent in the aroma. A touch of orange zest (more like Grand Marnier) joins the other more dark fruit driven flavors. While the sweetness provides lots of viscousness to this beer, the lack of carbonation tends to keep the body light some how; despite this the beer is most definitely a sipping beer though

This is one of those beers that you would be hard pressed to guess is beer in a blind tasting. This tastes so much like a fortified wine (like Port), and it drinks just like one as well. I really enjoy a good Port from time to time, and I am really digging this right now. This is very interesting, it isn’t overly complex though as really the sweet, dark, oxidized fruit flavors tend to dominate. I’ll admit this wasn’t at all what I was expecting, but this is quite good.

15 DEC 07, Southeast YeHa. Vintage 2004. Medium copper. Aroma of mead, alcohol, brown sugar, maple. Very still body. Very mead like, of the stillness. Sweet flavors. Lots of alcohol. PDer!

Bottle from SL, 2004 brew, poured clear amber, no significant head, certainly thinned quickly. Aroma was very nice, dark fruits (prunes, grapes, figs), sweet honey and vanilla, warming alcohol (mullable probably), cherries, oak/wood. Flavor follows every bit of the aroma, some molasses also present, vanilla stronger than in the aroma, very enjoyable, although certainly a malty/mead like product with ample alcohol present. Mouthfeel is moderately sticky, again very mead like, yet enjoyable. Not sure why this isn’t more liked, joyously smooth and sweet, although without a doubt expensive. A nice experience.

Pours with a deep red body topped by a thin head with no lacing. It’s very sweet and malty with lots of candy sugar and a little bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied and smooth.

Italian Tasting at FOF, Gyngen, Aarhus, DK Bottled, 291008. Ruby-brown with no head. Aroma of malt and dried fruit. Flavor sweet of figs, dats, raisins - some orange and a balanced tone of alcohol