Barrel House Belgian Winter Ale

Brewed by Barrel House Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Cincinnati, Ohio USA

Bottle sample at a Barrel House dinner at Teller’s of Hyde Park. Pours a dark, almost opaque ruby-brown color with a medium tan head. Aroma of berries, dried fruits, caramel, molasses, sweet grains, sweet malts, and biscuit. The flavor is sweet and tart, with notes of berries, caramel, molasses, sweet roasted malts, figs, biscuit, winter spices, and bread. Medium bodied, with a syrupy, oily, and chewy mouthfee. The tartness is not overpowering, and adds an unexpected element for the style. Some of the spices and milder flavors are overshadowed on the nose by the berries and sweeter elements, but these all come out more clearly on the palate. Alcohol becomes just a bit apparent as it warms. Really nice winter beer.

Draft. Brown color with a frothy head. Aroma has some spice and grain and some faint fruit. Flavor has plums, spice and yeast with some sweet and tart taste.

[2364-20090801] Bottle. Old chlorine characteristics hidden in the aroma. Dark brown body with a quick bubbly light tan head. Sweet tough malt flavour has a heavy ’tart’ finish and mild notes of fruit throughout. Full body. Drinkable, good.
(w/ others @ BCTC; Cooperstown, NY)

2009-08-01. Dark brown body with a good foamy beige head that fades. (3+) Mild aroma, light fruit and malt. (6+) Flavour is similar, tart fruit over malt, touch old? Sharp tart fruit in the finish. (6+) Average palate is lightly carbonated. Bottle at BCTC 2009, shared by DuctTape

Dark brown body with mahogany edges with some light and a light yellowish khaki head. The aroma has some perfume with sweet notes of pear and Belgian funk. There is also bubblegum and a little hint of melted plastic. The taste has some old leather and tart apples. There is also some paper and plastic hints. A heavy body, but smooth feeling. There is definitely something wrong here with the tart character. Too salty.

In the bomber bottle from Beertopia. At $3.49 a bottle, how can you go wrong for a 8.5% beer? The beer pours black with a purple highlight. The head, if agitated to do so, can produce a fine dark beige thick topping of limited durability. The initial aroma is a bit raisin-like, slightly vinous, but not large. The flavor occurs quick with roasted and raisin abbey ale features, but the beer then quickly release an unbalanced alcohol burn. <ild chalky finish that does not leave anything lingering but a slight tobacco essence. Again, good for the price, bad for the style.

i had a winter ale last night that was rated a 2.8. it was a thousand times better than this piece of shit. pours deep burgundy with some yeast opacity. 1/4 inch of mustard brown head. smells of alcohol and rotten apples. malty but unappealing. the flavor is thin and watery but pretty close to a shitty bock. slightly malty, slightly nutty, mostly shitty. nothing interesting about this bomb.

Dark brown with a quickly disappating head. Moderate carbonation. Malty nose with some raisons. Flavor is unique. Crystal and special b malt initially, possibly some candi sugar, a tart almost acidic flavor as well. A dry finish. Unique brew, kind of like a lesser version of rodenbach grand cru. Not too bad