Berkshire Holidale

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

Date: 03/17/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Vintage: 2005

clear orange amber, whispy head, semi sweet carmel malt aroma, rich calmel malt flavor balanced by earthy hops, very mellow

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4
-------- /> Date: 06/30/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party
Vintage: 2006

clear dark amber, frothy beige head, drops of lace, rich dark caramel malt aroma with lots of earthy hops, rich dark caramel malt flavor, rich fruity character, light balancing biterness considering the rich malt

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Amber; aroma of sorbitol candy, oranges, earth, and pine. Strong malt - a somewhat one-dimensional malty barley wine. English style.

22oz bottle acquired in trade. 2006 vintage. Poured a medium to deeper orangish / amber color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, raisins, plums, and an all around christmas smell (spruce and spices). Tastes of caramel, dark fruits, vanilla, and citrus. Alcohol content well hidden.

2005 bottle thanks to OldGrowth: Pours a transparent copper orange with a thin wispy, lightly-lacing off-white head. Aroma of orange spice, some caramel malt and alcohol. Starts with some mild toasty caramel maltiness and light orange peel spice with a light peppery warming finish. I’d like to see a little more malt and hops in this.

Impressions from the YeHa! party:
-A ring of foam surrounds the nearly clear orange-red.
-Some tartness and pickled fruitiness mars the sweet aroma.
-Cherry fruitiness and incongruous caramel don’t like each other, which is disturbing.
-The well-fed body offers no complexity at all, and mostly shows signs of disease.
-Vegetable tones and intrusive tartness slash the sweet malt finish.
-Hops are completely confused here, and don’t know where to make their presence felt, dizzied by their nervous companions.
-Oh yeah, woohoo for cardboard.
-I usually expect a barley wine to be a serene yet powerful evening sipper, a nourishing reward to myself for a tiring day. This fails miserably in this aspect, and also as a simple, flavorful strong ale. I don’t want to generalize as it seems there are some good bottles of this around, but I can say I will definitely avoid this 2005 vintage.

Bottle; 2005 vintage.

2004 bottle and a good one at that. This one reminded me of the classic Englisg style barley wines in that it was sweet and relatively flat. Tastes of fruit and anise were very prevelant. While this falls a bit short, I’m hoping they attempt this style again for 2005.

22 oz bomber 2006 version. Deep orange-brown colour. Almost no head to speak of. The aroma is quite sweet, toasted hazelnuts, marzipam, brown sugar, light rum and plum. Candied dates, and light syrup. Flavour is sweet and fairly straightforward, sweet apricot and plums with a touch of brown sugar. Moderate bitterness lending a touch of spice and leafy character. A lighter style of barleywine that might improve over the next year or so, but probably not much beyond that.

A golden barley wine with a thin white head. A cloying vinous aroma with strong alcohol notes, rather simple. In mouth, a sweet light barley wine with grainy malt, not refined, rather boring. Tasted at "Montréal YeHA! Party 2006". Dec. 16 2006.