Barley Johns Rosies Raspberry Aged Old Ale

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

My first rating from GTMW ’08, and for a reason. Ruddish brown color with a reddish tint, and no head to speak of. Aroma is beautiful...incredibly light and sweet for a beer of this intensity...notes of chocolate, raspberry, malty/syrupy, alcohol, and a bit of funk mixed in there. Flavor is ridiculously good, this beer set itself apart from the other big beers due to the multi-dimensionality. Up front you get a nice mixture of sweet malt, vanilla, some caramel malts, and a good dose of tart flavor to keep everything mixed nicely, and then the raspberry kicks in. The beautiful thing is that the raspberry didn’t overwhelm, but just becomes part of the beer. Palate is incredibly smooth...only word to describe it is ’silk’. Oh yeah, I’m also wondering where is that 15%...I sure can’t find it! What finally set it apart was the bourbon barrel aging...it does not dominate in any means, but rather adds an incredible third dimension of soft wood and bourbon flavors. Knowing this beer is gone for the time being makes me very, very sad...please brew this again!!!

On tap at GTMW. Poured deep, murky brown with no head sticking around. The aroma picked up raspberry syrup liqueur first and foremost.. thick and sweet with definite power behind (somehow no overt alcohol though!).. a hair too sweet for my liking, but quite nice. Crisp raspberry seeds provided tartness on the tip of the tongue with thicker, syrupy raspberry puree over a sufficient (but almost hidden) caramel base.. spicy, warm finish with some artificial sweetener, but again well-masked alcohol. Thick-bodied and syrupy on the palate with a bit too much sweetness, but that sweetness hid the fact that this was a monster brew.

Great Taste 2008. Pours a clear reddish brown with not a suggestion of a head. The nose is light and sweet. More of a liquor than a beer in terms of nose at least. Vanilla pops out over huge raspberry. Very ethereal. The body is thinner with some sugary syrupiness to it. The flavors are in line with the nose. Light ethereal but sweet raspberry vanilla. This is much more of an aperitif than I thought a beer could ever be, lovely. So lovely I poured some of my girlfriend’s into a sample of Dark Lord (and in the process I created the greatest beer that never was).

Great Taste of the Midwest 2008

My only visit to Barley John’s led to a pour of this wonderful beer. I am probably underselling it a bit after a few other bourbon barrel aged beers but for some reason it didn’t set itself apart. On the other hand all that means is that it falls into the "great" category rather than the "world class" one. Hopefully it makes future appearances so others can enjoy it as well.

Aroma / Appearance - The cloudy reddish brown body revealed the blend of raspberries which were also evident in the nose in the form of puree. Very thick and creamy it also released a strong maltiness that mixed well with the bourbon and vanilla aspects.

Flavor / Palate - The thicky chewy mouthfeel was a little too boozy after a few other more balanced attempts which was the main flaw in my opinion. I don’t mind huge beers as long as they aren’t aggressive and over the top. This one straddles that line and almost falls over. Warm on the throat it would be a great dessert beer nonetheless. I could imagine sipping a pint on a cold winter Midwestern day while the snow falls.

This beer pours to a totally flat brown/ruby body. It’s perfect with everything that the standard and barrel aged Rosies ale has but this one also has Raspberries. My God this is a phenomenal beer! It was so good, I graciously walked a sample over to BBB63 at the Livery tent as he was pouring there. Did I mention this was actually better than the base?

GTMW ’08 sample. Flat brown-purple body. Smells like raspberry puree and some thick brown malt. The flavor breaks down a bit with some spicy fusels but otherwise contributes Raspberry Eisbock-like silkiness and some creamy raspberry with a caramel/chocolate background.

Oooh that’s a spicy meat-a-ball.... Dk brown pour, red hughes come through, whispy white head. Big sweet fruity aroma lots of fresh raspberry a light sourness hinting on some bret too. some light caramels.. very nicely mixed scents. Full thick sticky well coated palate. Great flavor huge lightly tart but still sweet raspberry you get a lot of fruit type sugars then a warm swallow with some sticky sweet flavor I can’t quite place.. a fairly dry wood finish with a tiny hint of some char. Very very good.

Pours still in appearance, mildly oily, colored a reddened brandy brown. Aroma of honey, toffee or seared brown sugar, cherry skins, raspberries; a comforting blanket of warmth wrapping around throughout, and showing a restrained bretty sharpness, providing a soft wild accent. Flavor gives lots of tropical fruit and tangy booziness, layered with sugary brandy, raspberries, pineapple, cherry pits, hot molasses and sweet cinnamon bread. Alcohol gets a bit impish and heavy. Palate is round and syrupy; gentle and polished. Some dry cocoa toward the finish, which lands in a doughy, sweetened tartness that sprawls lazily over the palate in a slow embrace. Indefinite length. Interesting project here.