Big Sky Olde Bluehair Barleywine

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

Bottle Pours out a amber topped with a small sand head. Aroma was of pit fruit, some oak and sweetness. Tast was more wood a very tasty caramel and even some sweet vanilla. Very tasty BW.

On tap at the AZ Strong Beer fest. Pours a clear amber with a thin off-white head. The nose is floral hops and caramel. The taste is caramel malt, brown sugar and citrus hops. Medium bodied. Nice barley wine – not overly sweet – good stuff.

On tap at the brewery. This amber ale poured with a foamy beige head and a caramel aroma. It starts sweet, then mellows to a nice bitter and spicy finish.

Sampled at Toronado 2009 Barleywine Festival. Pours clear deep copper with thin tan head. The modest aroma has notes of prunes, figs and sweet crystal malts. The taste starts rich and sweet with malt, fig raisin and plum sweetness. Midway and to the finish alcohol chemical notes show up along with a layer of pine hop bitterness. Could use some more age to mellow a bit. It does have a mildly drying malt roastiness into the finish.

Bottle 1549 of 1800. Pours a deep yet hazy reddish brown with a soapy tan head. Aroma of ripe fruits, brown sugar, caramel, toffee, barrel, vanilla and spices. Flavor is dark fruits, caramel, sweet malt, vanilla, spices, barrel aging is evident but compliments the beer instead of overpowering it. Nice sticky mouthfeel and just the right amount of sweetness. The BA version is truly a Fantastic Barleywine. Awesome stuff.

Tap at Toronado. Pours with a copper to amber color. Nice aromas of toffee and caramel. Great flavors of dark fruit, caramel and some hops in the finish. Alcohol was fairly well hidden, good stuff.

On tap at Toronado for Barleywine fest ’09. Dark purplish brown color. Aroma is dark fruits, oak, and sweet malt. Flavor is port-like with sweet malts, toffee, vanilla, and oak. Alcohol noticeable. Fairly syrupy, medium-full palate.

Sparkling garnet pour with ample carbonation spawns a mountainous latte colored head and spotty lacing. Aroma is maple, molasses, and oak. Flavor is sticky, goey, chewy caramel, brown sugar, dark ripe raisins, and bourbon. Syrupy and delicious.