Barley Johns Rosies Raspberry Aged Old Ale

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

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

(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!

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.

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!

On draught during the Winterfest 2008 in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. Pours a hazy brownish amber brew with a fast dissolving beige head that dissipates toa fine film and ring. Aroma of tart raspberries, alcohol burn, with a hint of powdery caramel malt in the background. Taste is thick, high alcohol, strong tart raspberry flavor. Ooph Da! That is one strong Old Ale with a finish taste that will warm your average Minnesotan -10 degree winter freeze. This is sort of like an alternative raspberry cordial but it is still a beer.

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.

Draft at the brewpub on Barley John’s 8th Anniversary. Drank this one side by side with the Barrel Aged Rosie’s (batch 2). Poured a hazy dark orange-brown color. Topped by an off white ring. Looked identical to the barrel aged Rosie’s. The aroma was boozy and malty. I smelled whiskey, molasses, plum, and toffee. There was also a whiff of berries. Very sweet on the tongue, almost cloying, and much sweeter than the barrel aged Rosie’s. Thick, malty, and boozy. Very liqueur-ish. The alcohol flavor was strong, but was mitigated somewhat by the sugary sweetness. I tasted molasses, sherry/port, fig, distinct milk chocolate, and almost imperceptible berry. Carbonation was on the lower end of the spectrum. Wow. Strong. Interesting, but it was a bit too sweet and boozy for me. That said, I liked it slightly better than the barrel aged Rosie’s.

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?