Bison Organic Barleywine

Brewed by Bison Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Berkeley, California USA

Orlando, Fl. - Knightly Spirits - 22 oz bomber. Murky dark orange, burnt copper pour, quickly dissipating slightly off-white head. Fresh, fragrant, fruity aroma with hints of fruit salad, some juicy fruit gum. Chewy flavor, spearmint, toffee, mild citrusy grapefruit accents. Decent - but missing that oomph of flavor that a barley wine is expected to deliver. Mouthfeel is creamy is sufficiently thick. Holds its high ABV quite well. Might improve a bit after being laid down for a while.

22oz bottle. First of all what the hell do they mean by 2005 Barleywine? Is this really vintage 05? Pours a brilliant, clearish, brown color with a small crisp white head, not much retention, no lace. Smells good enough, nice balance of sweet caramelly malts and spicy hops, some oxidation as well. The oxidation really comes out in the flavor. Semi-sweet caramel malt flavor at the front and back and some spicy hop flavors through the middle. Medium body, subdued carbonation.

Big bottle. Amber cloudy, with white head, produced by a vigorous pour, some lacing. Aroma is strong caramel, toffee, and alcohol. My first sip is dissappointing, syrup mixed with some kind of malt--hints of fruit--raisin, cherries.

Bottle. As I pour I can’t help but think that this looks thin. Doesn’t seem to have a lot of viscosity for a bw. Body is a nice tawny color and there is not really any head to speak of other than a thin scum on the surface and half a dozen bubbles scattered about. Aromas are nice... fruit (raisins, dried cherries, fig), brown sugar sweetness, a bit of alcohol and some molasses. My first thoughts are that the flavor is odd... a bit too sweet, unbalanced alcohol presence and not quite enough malt or something to cover all the deficiencies. Just seems kind of strange that when you run up against a bw that you don’t care for, they are usually pretty lousy. Don’t know if it was breathing a bit or what, but things seemed to settle down a bit as I work my way down the glass. The alcohol problem seems to have balanced itself out a bit, the sweetness is a little more in check. Dominant flavors now are fig and toffee. Kind of pleasant.

Pours an amber color with an off-white head. Aroma is of caramel malts, dark fruits, and some toffee. Aroma isn’t as strong as I was hoping. Much too sweet for a barley wine which is saying a lot. Not very much alcohol warming for 9.5% either. Not what I was hoping for.

650 ml bottle from bevmo, Medium brown with almost no head. Sweet malty and fruity aroma and taste with some interesting spice notes. Decent.

22 ounce bottle purchased from Nugget in Woodland, CA. Husky, lightly vinous, caramel-like aroma present. Some sugary sweet notes attempt to hide a fair amount of ethanol in the nose, too. Transparent ruby-twinged amber body with a medium, quickly-dissipating light yellowish head. Decent lacing present. Hrmmm...dusty, brown sugary and molasses flavors definitely make an appearance. Perhaps a touch of cocoa and caramel is in there, too? Some definite ethanol burn and bitterness is present later, along with a little bit of hoppiness. A sweeter, different barleywine. Still harsh, and not up to my ideals when it comes to a barleywine.

Bomber poured a clear reddish brown with a small lasting amber head. Aromas of carmel, toffee, brown sugar, pepper, light spice and a hint of dark fruit. Palate was medium bodied crisp and warming. Flavors of carmel, brown sugar, fig and raisin with a crisp warming bittersweet finish. Not a bad Barleywine, it just does’nt stand up against all the great Barleywines out there.