Bison Organic Barleywine

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

Deep orange pour. Toffee, rubbing alcohol and light hops is most of the below average aroma. Flavor is sweet and has a very herbal/artificial flavor. This is pretty terrible.

Label claims it is a 2005 vintage. Orange, clean looking with a minimal smell plus alcohol. Taste is some toffee as promised by the label but still thin. As it warmed it got better but this just didn’t do it for me. I wonder if the fact that it is organic has anything to do with the lack of "oomph" in the taste. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 09-05-2007 16:27:30

In short: A grossly overly sweet no-style beer
How: Bottle 22oz. I think I got it in a bonus is a trade. Probably a good idea I don’t remember from whom
The look: Almost clear dark golden body topped by a very small beige head
In long: Nose is all about candy sweetness. Taste is overly sweet, cloying. White sugar, brown sugar, sweet candied fruits, dried fruits, citrus juice, sugary caramel, hard candies. If the overly sweet flavours were not bad enough they were joined by vegetable notes. No hops presence whatsoever. I couldn’t drink the whole bomber. From now on I will only buy genetically modified Barley Wines.

Bottle (2005): A reddish amber pour with a finger of sticky beige head. Aroma is rather potent with fruitiness, husky malts, and some florals. Citrus sweets and even a little bready. Wow, organic with a potent aroma... this might be good! The first sip reminds me of a year-old Double Bastard. Holy taste organic beer!!! Nice citrus, caramel, toffee, bready malts, florals, and even some candied sugar. Nice faded hops presence. Warming and soothing. At first, I can’t believe all the low ratings. For an organic beer damn right I am impressed! Then, as it warms, it loses a lot of the flavor complexities and gets a little husky and earthy. Shit. It is an organic beer after all. I haven’t even finished half the glass and it warms up enough to get bland. Still, for $3.19 per bomber I don’t mind having it a bit cold! I’ll put this back in the fridge every 15 minutes at that price! **Note: If you can’t tell yet I have no confidence in organic beer. Nothing personal, but less chemicals equals less taste. This brew is certainly better than most organic ales. 7/4/8/4/15

Bottle From Jungle Jim’s. Poured clear copper color with an average off-white frothy head that motly lasted with good lacing. Moderate sour citrus, sweet malt and alcohol aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium balanced bittersweet flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of moderate duration. I would share this with a freind.

Sampled at the Hopsnobbery Collective barley wine tasting on 3.14.09. Clear amber with a thin white head. Malty candi sugar aroma. Same flavor with a bit of hop in the finish.

Better than I expected. I usually hate organic beers. Pretty smooth and drinkable for a barleywine. Lightly sweet flavor of dark fruits, especially cherries. Some taste of alcohol in the flavor, but mainly appearing in the finish. Could have used some other ingredients, a little weak and simple for a barleywine.

2005 bottle sampled Jan 2009.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this one. Nice sweet caramels and admittedly some harsher alcohol in the aroma. Toffee and cider flavors, still quite nice hop nip in the close, thoroughly enjoyable, smooth mellowed mouthfeel.