Barley Johns Barrel-Aged Rosies Ale (Batch 2)

Brewed by Barley Johns Brew Pub
Style: Barley Wine
New Brighton, Minnesota USA

Smell is very sweet and has hints of bourbon. Taste is very sweet and wine like hiding alcohol quite well. I still got the warmth in the chest from this one. Has fruity flavors and a fairly light body. I think I would again need to share a bottle of this with someone due to the sweetness. I would definitely but this again.

Draft at the brewpub on Barley John’s 8th Anniversary. Drank this one side by side with the Raspberry Rosie’s. It poured a hazy dark orange-brown color. The head was thin and off white. Boozy aroma with molasses, plum, and toffee elements. Sweet, but not nearly as sweet as the Raspberry Rosie’s. Broad shouldered and malty with light acidity and a warming alcohol effect. I tasted sherry, raisin, caramel, and molasses. Very good, but I the alcohol was a bit much for me.

On tap at the brewpub on 6/23/07: Pours a nearly opaque with brown edges and a lightly effervescent cream-colored head. Aroma of sweet, rich brown sugar and caramel with some complex raisins and plums along with a nice bourbon oaky balance. Body starts rich, sugary and sweet with plenty of complex dark fruits and light bourbon and brandy flavors toward a viscous caramel candy finish. A very complex, enjoyable dessert beer.

Hande bottle courtesy of RobertsReality from a couple months back. Wasn’t expecting much, but Holy SHIT!. Pours a thick, opaque, nearly black reddish brown color with a small head that immediately dissapates. The aroma is rich and intoxicating with notes of raisins, cake batter, vanilla, cherry, and tobacco. The flavor is incredibly rich with notes of maple and brown sugar, chocolate covered cherries, charred oak, and cognac. Its fabulously complex... truly a tasting odyssey. The 14% alcohol is well hidden, but it certainly sneaks up on you quickly. It has a luxuriously long finish that develops even after you’ve swallowed. Can’t say enough good things about this beer. Overall, best barleywine I have ever had.

Draft @ brew pub, pours a cloudy reddish brown with a thicker tan ring of covering that disappears completely, no lacing. Aroma is bourbon, oak, plum, brown sugar, black cherry, light caramel and vanilla. Flavor is very sweet and syrupy upfront, with brown sugar and dark candied fruits, followed by a more subdued bourbon, oak, and mellower dark fruit profile; some slight warming, but otherwise not as alcohol and bourbon forward as I would have expected. I actually found the syrup and candied nature to be a bit distracting, but overall this has a good dose of complexity and character to keep it interesting.

Draft @ Brewpub: Dark brown mahogany, light head and lacing. Nose of bright sweet fruit and alcohol, lots of oxidized malt and barrel. Oakey and lots of sweet honey, chewy raisin and decent hops. Plenty of alcohol. Super complex and alive, but....

Hand-bottle score 3.5, draft score 4.1, average score and a compilation of notes and thoughts henceforth. The draft sample was four months older when sampled, and what a signifigant difference that amount of time made. A mellower monster barleywine made room for subtle intricacies to plod through and certainly multiplied enjoyment of an already good beer. The pour is dark brown, caramel/cola colored with blackened soft edges, totally opaque and oily. A thin beige head fades quickly and totally away. The aroma is very sweet, with straightforward notes of brown sugar, bourbon, cherry, orange pith, rotting figs, vanilla and almond cake. Alcohol is very strong in the bottled sample, moderately strong on tap. A mellowing has allowed distinct fruit and earth character to rise to the fore and notch complexity up a great deal. The flavor is very rewarding in the draft sample, after being just too brutal from a fresher hand-bottling. Plenty of rich chocolate springs out on the heels of softer vanilla, earth and bourbon barrel tastes. Alcohol is fruity and powerful. Sweetness is very high but isn’t cloying; rather, it’s subjugation of bitterness and astringency is marvelous, almost like that’s what was intended. Many dark fruit interplay with low bitterness and weave a maze of ripe juices to reveal a complete package not all that unlike fruit-infused bourbon , with a bold old ale backnote, like a 2 to 1 liquor to beer blend. This works. Mild tartness from the oak sets in after a few sips. The finish is warming, smooth, lightly tannic, fruit and bourbon, and ultimately soft vanilla and heavier chocolate, lingering on. The mouthfeel is full bodied, velvety and grainy in an aged sample, whereas a fresh sample revealed too much noxious alcoholic bite and retronasal and belly warmth. Carbonation is very low and only suitable for a beer of this magnitude and/or complexity, in fact it probably accelerates analysis of subtle fruit flavors because nothing glides over the palate, instead pausing for a brief rest before moving on. Very good. Barley Johns is an awesome brewpub.

ufff, This thing was a bit over barreled for me. Having had a ton of the first batch years ago I knew this wasn’t going to be as good as they had some fermentation issues. Still very nice but that Bourbon was so front and center.