Big Sky Olde Bluehair Barleywine

Brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Missoula, Montana USA

750ml bottle, pours red with foamy off white head. nose of cotton candy, caramel, slight bourbon. flavors of caramel, cotton candy, red fruit, slight bourbon. med body, a bit fizzy finish.

750ml bottle (708 of 1800)...pours a dark amber brown with a fluffy liight brown head..... aroma of tasty malt, soft barrel, vanilla, and oak tannins....flavors are sweet with dark fruit and a lasting bitterness. fine vanilla and barrel aged flavors. prety good but ivan was a little better.....

draft @ hard liver ’09 - dark brown with slight haze and thin, off-white head; bourbon is obvious and perhaps a little much so on the nose, but perfectly compliments in the flavors; lots of sugar, quite sweet, mild wood and caramel in there too
Earlier Rating: 4/9/2009 Total Score: 3.8
draft @ hard liver ’09 - clear, orange with slight white head and plenty of lacing; raw sugar, malty syrup; flavors of caramel, vanilla, lemons; quite nice overall; texture a little on the thin side

750 ml bottle. Pours a deep amber with a moderate, somewhat creamy, tan head that lasted through three-quarters of the glass and left a layer of foam with each sip. Very pleasant aroma of caramel, vanilla, orange, and alcohol. The flavor is very similar to the aroma with the same caramel, vanilla, orange and alcohol. Definitely on the sweeter side. Fairly smooth on the palate, not quite silky. The bottle says 8.75% abv, but I had a pretty good buzz going after the first glass. That, combined with the noticeable alcohol presence, leads me to believe this one is stronger than they are stating. Enjoyable.

(750ml, bottle #818 of 1800, courtesy of chef201atc) Pours an amber-brown body with a small beige head. Aroma of cherry, mustiness, orange, caramel, light bourbon, oak, and toffee. Flavor of caramel malt, cherry, brandy, maple, apple, and some oak in the finish.

On tap at Brouwer’s Cafe. A little darker than the other barleywine I sampled. Brownish red. Aroma was pretty sweet with caramel, toffee, fruit, alcohol and sugar. Flavor was similar and quite tasty. Again, there was a good amount of sweetness. Hint of buttery bread. Good beer.

Bottle. Pours dark brown with a large, rocky, off-white head, lasting with excellent lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (toffee, caramel, cookie), light hops (perfume, pine), heavy yeast (dough, earth) with notes of alcohol, vanilla, cask, dates, and toffee. Full bodied, creamy texture, lively carbonation, and an astringent finish. Long duration, heavy sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness.

Brouwers Hard Liver Festival 2009. 2008 Vintage. Dark amber pour with a smooth off-white head. Smooth with a soft vanilla note to the caramel body. The alcohol was still a touch excessive, I think this would age really well.
Earlier Rating: 12/14/2007 Total Score: 3.1
Pours dark cherry brown with almost no head, very small soapy head that doesn’t stay long. This beer was very flat, although a very nice taste to it, it would have been greatly improved with more carbonation. Sweet caramel flavor up front, fruity red grape, fig, rum cake, and a well balanced hop finish. The alcohol is hidden well and the flavors are great, just the lack of carbonation hurt it.