Bethlehem Brew Works Bourbon Barleywine

Brewed by Bethlehem Brew Works
Style: Barley Wine
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania USA

12oz snifter at the Allentown location. Poured a deeper and cloudy amberish/brownish color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of woodiness, caramel, lighter bourbon, and some vanilla. Tastes of woodiness, bourbon (more than the aroma), vanilla, caramel, and some dark fruits. Light alcohol in the finish, but overall well hidden. Me thinks Tom needs to try this batch!

Courtesy of hopdog. Pours brown with a tan head. Smells of chocolate, vanilla, spice, cocoa, oak, nutty. Tastes of bourbon, resiny, dark fruit, layered chocolate, pepper, earthy, toffee, caramel, boozy, dry, oaky. Velvety mouthfeel. Excellent!

Handbottle shared by Shawn: Crimson brown hued with a small lasting frothy head and spotty lace. The aroma has notes of faded caramel and bready malts, some vanilla and wood, hints of plum and pepper. The taste is much better than the nose with a nice fruity and malt tone countered by a snappy booze and spicy profile. It does however get a bit cardboardy and even catty as it warmed. The mouth feel is lively and aggressive, chewy and chalky finish. Honestly there was not much about this that would want me to have more, missing the richness and nose I expected from this.

Thanks to Steve for the handbottle! Poured murky medium amber with a short-lived cap of dark beige head. The aroma picked up sweet, thick, syrupy bourbon first and foremost over aged caramel and some darker fruits.. peppery, warm, and enticing. The flavor opened with tangy bourbon and oak notes, with thicker malts rolling in behind (caramel, molasses, and lesser dark fruit).. vanilla, oak, and a faint touch of smoke eminate outward.. finished with a lovely balance between the sweet bourbonny barrel and the barley wine (skewed slightly toward the barrel). Medium-plus bodied, warm, and tangy on the palate.. balance was entirely solid.. I’d love to get my hands on more of this!

[Draft @ Allentown BW] Poured a hazy reddish mahogany color with a small, light tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of vanilla, light citrus, pine, caramel malts, dark fruits, vanilla, wood, and bourbon. Taste of caramel malts, dried fruits, citrus, pine, toast, toffee, wood, vanilla, and bourbon with light alcohol in the finish.

Firkin at Real Ale Inv PBW09. Pours a hazy red/amber with a smaller off white head. Aroma of dark fruits, vanilla, toffee, and some various fruity notes. Flavor was a lot of the same. No a whole lot of bourbon. Solid but nothing overly impressive. 6-4-6-4-13 Re-rate via growler at brewpub in Sept 2009. Pours a hazy deeper brown with orange notes and a medium creamy off white head. Aroma of tobacco, dark fruits, bourbon, vanilla, light oak notes, nuts, caramel and molasses. Flavor of tobacco, caramel, dark fruits, vanilla, bourbon, oak and toffee. Light alcohol.

handbottle from hopdog, thank steve! Pours red with a nice beige head. Sweet and malty aroma with some bourbon...a bit peppery too. Flavor is sweet, very sweet. Dates, raisins, bourbon and vanilla. YUM.

12 ounce handbottle thanks to hopdod, thanks Steve! Pours out a deep burgundy color with a medium beige head and lots of bubbles, a surprisingly good head from a handbottle. The aroma is heavenly; one of the best noses ever; sweet fruity notes, akin to a aged Thomas Hardy, a light woody note, some vanilla. The flavor is just great; sweet, fruity, dark fruits and strawberry, a tannic-woody bourbon note, vanilla, sweet but not overly so. Lets be clear, this is one hot mother, lots of alcohol warmth. The bourbon meshes so well with the rich fruity sweet malt, it is not overpowering but complementary. Very nice. It’s aggressive for sure, but well-made.