Barley Johns Rosies Raspberry Aged Old Ale

On tap at the Great Taste of the Midwest (8/9/08): Pours a mostly still oily dark copper with a thin, wispy off-white head. Aroma of rich complex brown sugar and sweet dark fruits with some raspberry. Body starts rich, sweet, thick and complex with a touch of tart fruity balance. Quite interesting and enjoyable.

Tap at GTMW 2008 Aroma is sweet. cloying red fruit, higher alcohols, acetone, and more sweetness. Taste is very rich and full, almost creamy and dense in its richness. Lots of red fruit and bourbon. Finish is sweet and alcoholic, but it works.

(Draught) Pours a murky reddish brown body with a spare off-white head. Aroma of oak, raspberries, toffee, chocolate, and caramel. Flavor of sweet caramel malt, toffee, raspberries, and chocolate. Tasty!

GTMW 2008 (thanks to Blake for getting me some before it was gone):

Deep brown with a very oily appearance. WOW what a nose, raspberry, marzipan, viscous syrupy old bourbon, heavy roasted malt and even some chocolate. The taste is big and fruity at first with lots of malts in the profile. The middle is a tad papery and oxidized but seems to actually work. The mouth feel is oily and lush with a VERY WARMING FINISH! Very good a quite different, MIKEY LIKEY!

Draft. Great Taste 2008. Aroma of heavy raspberry sweetness. Port-like grape tannin. Vanilla. Caramelized brown sugar with a very noticeable alcohol hotness. Pours a murky brown with sun kissed copper around the edges. Flavor consists of heavy wood tannin. Alcohol. Raspberry liqueur. Honey, ginger. Syrupy sugar with a huge barrel presence... too much barrel. Cloying and sticky sweet but rather thin for the amount of alcohol. Finishes dry and tannic.

Date: 08/09/2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Great Taste

Appearance: muddy brown, wipsy beige head,
Aroma: sweet chocolate aroma with lots of rapsberry character,
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, raspberry is in good balance with the chocolate, rich fruit character without being too sweet or tart,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

on tap at GTMW ’08. pours dirty brown with no head. the fresh raspberries just clash with such an old beer that is malty and slightly boozy. bourbon and aged doughy malts, tobacco. the alcohol is very well hidden in the aroma and flavor. i doubt this is almost 15%abv. pretty drinkable though, i’m just not convinced the introduction of raspberries is such a great idea.

gtme 08.... caramel toffee brown pour with no head.... aroma was very bourbony with a small degree of raspberries coming through... flavor was a little too sweet and cloying for my liking. lots of residual sugars and the raspberries put it over the top. boozy....really want to try the non-fruited version of this beer some day.