Barley Browns Chaos

On tap at Barley Browns in Baker City, OR (thanks to Tyler and Shawn for this one!)--Poured a bright orange amber body with a wispy white head and lots of legs on the glass. Hop monster with lingering bitterness and big floral presence. Not as overwhelming as their IPA with bittering hops. At least it didn’t seem that way until I got my growler home and my head starting tingling from all the alphas. Yum!

A vigorous pour yields a thin, light khaki head that’s soapy and sparkling, mostly diminishing. The body is very dark brown with mahogany tints. The aroma is chock full of evident bitterness and astringency, with heapings of grapefruit and overflowing pine. In this instance, excess smells terrific. Toasted grains are accompanied by lesser roasted ones. Mild chocolate, coffee are noted as well. No notable flaws, nothing offensive. Alcohol is very concealed. This is quite close to greatness. The flavor introduces a thick, intricate and consistent malt profile that has massive hoppiness interwoven with nice moderate sweetness and minor roast. Carbonation, though a touch on the high side, is adequate and pleasant. The body is medium and smooth. Finishes, toasty, hoppy with ample resiny bitterness. For the size and scope of this it’s really balanced - mainly due to the darker malts and heavy caramelization. Awesome. This doesn’t need work, but with a few minor tweaks this could hang with just about anything. More complexity and this would be a surefire contender every time.

Sampled on tap and handbottled. Extremely dark chestnut brown with a tan head. Robust hop aroma - a lot of grapefruit, but a floral undertone - and a bit of nuttiness way in the back. A very light roastiness with a vicious hop wallop behind, mostly grapefruit rind. Great in the bottle, fantastic fresh. A well done brew - mad hops, but the dark character adds something interesting.

Again, it is the pimpest m.f. er, Jayg. Pours an intesley black-brown color. Aroma is dark malt and citrus hop. Some resinous notes do come through. Flavor is very "roasty", with a nice hop bite. There is a touch of coffee like bitterness as well.

(Hand Bottle) Pours a dark brown body with an average beige head. Aroma of cocoa, citrus, and roastiness. Flavor of cocoa, citrus/pine hops, and caramel with a somewhat sticky finish.