Barley Johns Barrel-Aged Rosies Ale (Batch 2)

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

On tap at Barley Johns during the RBSG 2007 Pub Crawl. Cloudy dark amber body with a small frothy tan head. Sweet heavily malty molassas and raisin aroma. Sweet sugary raisin flavor with a very fruity lasting ending. Another excellent beer from Barley Johns but this too is exceptionally overpriced at $10 for a 5oz sample.

RBSG 2007. Pours to a dark red/brown body with a thin white head. Ultra slow carbonation. The flavor is perfect. Rich barleywine malts complimented by lots of sweet bourbon. Woodford Reserve like. Words can hardly describe it. Perhaps tons of tobacco and vanilla? The aroma is tobacco, sweet vanilla, bourbon, barley. Sweet full palate. Even at 14% it’s not overly fusel. Boozy, yes, but blended so marvelously. Besides, I like booze.

I didn’t get as much bourbon as some of the others. What I did get was fruit and sugar. The beer is very sweet and sugary. There is some fruit mixed in there, and very light hops. Its good that they cut down on the alcohol. There is far less burn than in the previous release.

Approximately 5 or 6 oz. pour, on tap at the brewpub. I tried this during the pub crawl at the RateBeer Summer Gathering 2007 in the Twin Cities, MN on Friday, June 22, 2007. The cost for a single small serving was $9(!), but it was worth it. Very interesting, very good, yeasty and floral aroma reminiscent of that of fine spirits, especially grappa, but also bourbon or rye whiskey. Cherry and grape scents. Pours a highly sparking yet hazy brown with very little head and a ton of bubbles. The color is an odd, yellowish-brown shade. Extremely sugary sweet flavor. Cherry and honey tastes. Yum! This tastes like the liquid form of a great fruit cake (which can be a very good dessert despite its bad reputation). Alcohol well masked. Reminiscent of a dessert wine or even a liqueur. Full-bodied. Very satisfying. <P>I normally am not a huge fan of sweet beers, and this may be the sweetest beer that I have ever had. You might think that would mean that I wouldn’t like this one, but you would be very wrong. In fact, I have to say that Barley John’s Barrel-Aged Rosie’s Ale (Batch 2) is the best tasting beer that I have ever had! It’s like it is so far removed from my hypothetical ideal beer that it has looped back around. It tastes absolutely nothing like what I would say my ideal beer would taste like, but it’s hard for me to imagine my ideal beer tasting much better. In other words, it is good enough to overcome my hops and meanness bias. It’s like a movie that is so sugar-sweet but so well made that it is able to melt the heart of even the fan of the grittiest fare. Or an adorable puppy that even the coolest and toughest guy can’t help but smile at when he sees it. It may sound like it would be hokey, but, in the moment, you can’t help but fall for it. This is a unique beer that, all things considered, really is like nothing I’ve ever had before in any type of beverage. It blew me away. Consider this a rave.

#500 live from RBSG 2007 Excellent drink, bourbon abounds. Delicious drink, very satisfying. I would have paid the $75 a growler if I thought I could keep it to myself. Like a raisin, fig sherry and toasted marshmellows with a nice bourbon finish. I need a nice leather couch, a scholar, the smell of a pipe and a book on revolutions to go with--oh wait I have all that too ;0).

Huge inviting aroma of very very sweet raisins and bourbon. Tons of sweetness and bourbon character in the flavour, maybe a bit of vanilla as well. It fails in that it’s not very complex and there’s so much sugar in it that you can’t get much out of it. I enjoyed my few drinks, but even the 6 oz glass seems like too much.

RBSG 2007. Dark red color with no head. Very solid bourbon aroma. Wow... nothing but bourbon and sweet malt taste. Think of a JW Lees Harvest Ale finished with Knob Creek. The corn in the bourbon sticks out more so than I recall in Batch 1, but with a good bourbon, what does one expect? If sweetness isn’t your thing, avoid this. Otherwise, it is quite divine.

Tap at the brewpub. Pours almost black with some nice deep, rich amber highlights. This, viscous, oily, chewy on the palate. Nice raisin, candied fruit, roasted malt flavors. The bourbon isn’t nearly as pronounced as in the Dark Knight, but it’s still there. Finishes rather sweet with a hint of alcohol. The only drawback is the price... $9 for a 6oz pour.