Beer Valley Highway To Ale Barley Wine

Brewed by Beer Valley Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Ontario, Oregon USA

Bottle ala Brocklander. Lightly hazed umber color with a taller, tight, tiny, bubbled, beige head. Head slowly settles with a heavy sheet of lace. Nice aromas of heavy caramel, vanilla and hints of spice; including cinnamon and mace. Soft feel. Light ripe fruit flavors in the front. Some light toffee, and bits of brandy in the background. Finish has some light oak and herbal hops. I don’t taste the alcohol, but my ears are turning red. Finish has some herbals with a bit of wintergreen. linger is rather dry and uneventful, except for a bit of wood. Nose really had me started with this one. Flavors were a slight let down. A decent strong ale. I need a bit more malt depth and flavor in my barleywine.

2008 Bottle - Pours amber with a medium lt tan head...aroma is sticky malt, caramel, dark fruit and hop florals, some resin as well...flavour punches you in the mouf, chewy spice, burnt sugar, hop bitters and heat...good stuff, some more time in the bottle and this might get pretty interesting...

The beer packs quite a punch in the 22oz bottle. The body is amber in color, cloudy with a 1" beige head. Aroma has some different angles going on...sweet caramel malts one time, then piney/floral hops, then some vanilla and spice comes out. Sweet malts hit the palate dead center, but the follow-up suprise of floral hops was quite suprising. Tasted like I was chewing on a sugar coated rose petal. Alcohol seemed nicely restrained, perhaps due to the sweetness. I can see this being stocked during the Winter months.

Bottled. A hazy amber beer with a thin beige head. The aroma is sweet malty with notes of caramel and straw. The flavor is sweet matly with notes of hops, spices, and cloves, leading to a very bitter finish. The body is thin. Thanks Papsoe for sharing.

This was a bit odd. Aroma is a little dirty spice with mild bitterness and malts. Taste is almost metallic but spice and sweet malt cover it up. Not great.

22oz from Bottletrek. Pretty nice pour, hazy orange with a modest head and minimal retention. Aroma is dominated by hops with a modest spice and the faintest trace of pine. The flavor is initially quite aggressive, on a par with fresh Double Bastard, but soon settles in to a pleasantly balanced, well malted American BW. Still pretty hot, don’t get me wrong, and the finish is nice and sharp. But I was impressed with this one overall.

Bottle. Pours mahogany with a large, frothy, light brown head, somewhat lasting with good lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (nutty, caramel, cookie), heavy hop (flowers, perfume, pine), average yeast (new leather, dough) with notes of alcohol, vanilla, brown sugar, dates, and candied apples. Full bodied, creamy texture, lively carbonation, and a bitter finish. Long duration, moderate sweetness, heavy acidity and bitterness.

Bomber. Pours a slightly hazy amber with a 2 finger foamy tan head. The nose is brown sugar, caramel and floral hops. The taste is sugary caramel, citrus hops and a touch of alcohol. Medium bodied. Not bad. A tad too sweet but the citrus cuts it pretty well in the finish.