Berkshire Holidale

Brewed by Berkshire Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
South Deerfield, Massachusetts USA

Decent nose and nice copper colored pour. Sweet, complex nose was the best thing about this, along with quite the creamy mouthfeel. Flavor was lacking a bit.

Vintage 2005 as reviewed on 12/2/05.... Pours dark copper, hazy, with a huge rocky head. Settled to a thin coating, leaving behind ragged lacing. Yeasty and chewy nose. Bannana peel, peach skins, fermenting dough, caramel, fresh suede, and must. Finishes sweet with a bit of wet hay. Mediumish mouthfeel, chewy and lingering. A solid bitterness preludes juicy malt, toffee coated fruits, and leather wrapped bannana. Finishes spicey, bitter, funky, and a bit hot. A good candidate for cellaring.............. Vintage 1998, as reviewed on 3/12/08......... Pours clear copper, with a short-lived half-inch head of porous beige. Aromatics are still fruity, with light malt. Fading peaches, tangerines, and melons. There is also a mild offness similar to burnt foam. Some warming alcohol and faint wet paper round out the nose. The mouthfeel is medium, with light carbonation and slightly tacky. The pallet has lost a lot of it’s character, and has become somewhat limp. Dried citrus fruits, earthy malt, and a firm bitterness mingle with warming alcohol. Bitterness is faded and there’s a hint of vineousity, as well as that singed funk that was found in the nose. Finishes quickly with some lingering residuals and fading fruit juice..... Holding up extremely well for a ten year old, and oxidation is at a minimum.

2007 Edition. 22 oz. bottle purchased at the Otis Chicken Farm in Otis, MA. Pours a hazy reddish brown with a moderate linen white head that lasted until the end and left sheets of lace on the glass. Pleasant aroma of caramel, citrus and a bit of spice I can’t quite define. The taste is equally pleasant with caramel and citrusy hops and again a bit of spice. Mild-to-moderate bitterness at the finish. The alcohol is fairly well hidden with just some light warmth at the finish. Medium bodied. One of the better beers I’ve had from the folks at Berkshire.

22 oz bomber. Poured in a hazy dark amber color witha small creamy offwhite head that left sheets of lacing. Nose is hoppy (grapefruit) and caramel. Initial taste is thin to medium body with caramel and lots of grapefruit hops. Very suprisingly super hoppy moving a little bit out of its style. Some pepper on the midpalate. Finishing hoppy with lingering sweet malts & caramel stickiness. Definitely enjoyable but not neccesarily in its proper style. Good palate duration.

Aroma has some nice caramel, with just a hint of feet in it. The boozyness is fairly well concealed, however. Short finish. Meh.

750ml bottle via BA-SS-07 (thanks!). 2006 vintage.This pours a clear reddish brown with a large beige head. Nose is spicy and citrus hops. Tastes of caramel,floral and citrus hops, a little spiciness....cardomom, with a balanced bittersweet finish. Body is a just a tiny bit thin. ABV is well-hidden.

22 oz., 2007, purchased in Hamilton, MA. This is unlike any barleywine I’ve ever had before. Extremely hoppy and fairly bitter, this seems more like an EPA than a Barleywine. Color is dark orange with a light head. Generally surprised by the flavor of this one and would not have been my choice for a winter brew.

2006 Release, Sampled December 2007
When poured vigorously the head forms a fat-two-finger thick, tan colored head that sits atop a brilliantly clear, dark, cranberry red colored brew. Chewy, sweet malt aromatics mix with appetizing hop aromatics. Aromas of toffee, sweet caramel, berries, kiwi fruit and a green, slightly vegetal notes something like fresh cut milk-weed and a touch of warming alcohol towards the end are all noticed. Really the herbal & odd fruit notes are what dominate the aroma; this ends up being not nearly as malty as one would expect from a Barleywine.

Sweet & fruity tasting up front, again berry notes and something a bit sharper like kiwi and maybe strawberry flavors are definitely quite noticeable. That milk-weed note is here in the flavor as well, though it is a bit reduced. This green note definitely lingers on the palate through to a lingering finish. A noticeable, though not overwhelming (more of a secondary note), bitterness is found throughout each sip. Caramelized malt sugars (which accentuate the fruit notes) as well as a touch of toffee, some lightly toasted notes and some chewy bread flavors play a supporting role here. This does not have as much heft as I was expecting it too, but it definitely has a fullness to it that makes this a sipping brew. A bit of warming alcohol mixes with the weird herbal note in the finish.

The flavors in this beer are just a bit odd, not nearly malty enough & the hops have taken a weird, not quite herbal, not quite hop fruity character. Definitely interesting though & worth trying, I wonder how much more this will change with a couple more years of age on it.