Barley Johns Barrel-Aged Rosies Ale (Batch 1)

Formerly brewed at Barley Johns Brew Pub
Style: Barley Wine
New Brighton, Minnesota USA

I cant thank Eric (footbalm) enough for hooking me up with an opportunity to try this wild brew. Pour was a murky lightish brown with a small quickly dissaperaing head. Nose was full of caramel malt, some apple, lots of bourbon, and some fruits. Quite tasty, but the alcohol hit me very very hard, quite harsh, but behind are tastes one could dreams of in a beer! Caramel, apple, some spices. Was unable to put this whole thing down, shame on me, I’m a lamo I guess. A wonderful experience indeed though.

Bottle: Lots of wine, apple, malt, and banana bread. Brown in the glass, but reddish-orange when held to the light. Virtually no head, just a tan ring aroudn the the glass. Malty and sweet with caramel apple. Banana bread in the background. There is an alcohol presence in the finish, but for 21%, it’s covered up real well. Just a slight burn. Another thanks to Styles for adding another top 50.

Cordial glass at the brewpub. Deep slightly hazy ruby color, with not even a wisp of head....I dive in to the nose, which is intensely whiskeyish, by turns full of cherries, tarragon, bordeaux, quite herbal and spicy (surprisingly, I thought) and also very very alcoholic, a bit too much so...oakiness is evident at once in an acerbic, intensely liquor-filled body, which does mellow out considerably later with the vanilla notes emerging from the wooden slumber, bing cherries replacing the more acidic initial bite...caramel becomes evident later and the beer actually is quite drinkable when near room temperature. It’s very good overall, but the alcohol I feel is just too burning and on the whole it doesn’t quite match SA Millenium or Utopia (my touchstones in this liqueur-beer category) nor is it close to as good as the brewer’s Dark Knight. Still, a must-try for barley wine enthusiasts.

It was only 5 degrees F outside when I walked into the bar to try this beer, so a warming drink was very much welcomed. Poured into what struck me as a large sherry glass, it appears hazy but not especially thick, nor especially cloudy. There is some head at first but it settles into a head-free sipping beer. Red and chestnut brown colors, with faint bubbles, there is a bit of rose color at the edges. The aroma is attractive, big with alcohol but in a snifter way, with orange, Grand Marnier, hazlenut, raisin, and dates apparent. The first sip brought zinging alcohol to my tongue, with a massive infusion through the nose, and continuing tingle on my lips and tongue. In this it reminded me a lot of Avery?s The Beast--a top-flight beer potentially but in need of about three more years of aging. The palate is curious--underneath the alcohol and a bit of stickiness on the lips from the sugars, it is rather thin for what this is. By the end of the glass, with all the carbonation gone, it looked like a cheap tawny port. The flavors are big and direct, but I had a hard time finding the deep dimensions. My mouth did settle in a bit and I became immune to the sting of the alcohol. My glass came from, I believe, the second of the three casks that were made for sale. A word on the price is deserved. For $8.50/small glass, I have my doubts. This is not to say that the price reflects the actual costs of making this beer; it may have, and that?s o.k. My feeling, rather, was that if it it takes that much time and cost to make a beer, it should be better than it was. I was lucky enough to be able to share some of Jazz88?s glass two days after I had my own glass, and those later sips confirmed my sense that this is a really nice beer, no question about it, but that it does not provide what I think of as a strong-4.0+ beer (or, it follows, a Top50). Side by side with the Dark Knight, the Dark Knight is my clear winner. (on tap at brewpub, Dec 21 & 23, 2004)

Tap @ brewpub. A reddish brown color with a laced light brown head. Dark fruits with a flemish sour ale like quality. A rich full body with caramel. Smoothed by the barrel aging, this beer left only a few hints of the 21% abv.

Bottled from a growler courtesy of footbalm: Pours a rich dark mahogany brown with a thin cream-colored covering of head. Aroma is a rich and complex blend of sweet caramel malt, raisins, and dark fruit with a touch of hops and bourbon oak. Starts with a nice sweet caramel bourbon toffee flavor with great complexity, a touch of butterscotch and warming alcohol toward the finish. Very well balanced and even a little fruity at times. A really interesting, unique and enjoyable brew. Thanks Eric!

Bottle (hand bottled thanks to footbalm) pours burnt caramel, small sudsy white head that leaves a slight ring around the edges, with spotty lacing.   Sweet Bourbon aroma, malty, with heaps of Oak on the nose.   Smells delicious!   Slight notes of Apple skin and touch of alcohol.   If it is indeed 21%, it sure doesn’t smell it.   Strong Bourbon and Oak immediately up front, fairly sweet with moments of caramel.   Heat begins to sneak in as it finishes, continually building until you are warm all over.   Slight Apple/Pear, but also some fig/date is noticable.   Very smooth going down, dangerously easy I should say.   While flavors are pronounced, they are quite soft, blending well with each other so nothing is overly dominant.   Heat lingers in the throat and upper chest.   Finishes semi-sweet, even slightly floral, with touches of Apple skin, Oak, and Whiskey.   Complex palate, soft and subtle.   Easy to embibe, yet packed with heat.   I am quite impressed with this one!   Super Duper thanks goes out to footbalm for sending me this one out of the blue!!!

Thanks Eric. Brown golden colo, and clear. Aroma of sherried raisins, and plums. Flavor of hHops, sherry, plums and raisins too. Excellent beer.