Blue Point Old Howling Bastard

Brewed by Blue Point Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Patchogue, New York USA

2003 vintage bottle shared at Cornboys Barleywine Blind. Pours copper with an off white head. Aroma has tons of smoke about it, very odd for a BW indeed. The smoke comes through to the flavor as well and is accompanied by some grainy notes. Where is the sweetness? Odd barleywine and a let down.

2000 Vintage 750ml bottle via trade a long time ago. Green Wax on top. Thought about opening it the other night but it wouldn’t fit in my cooling thing so now I’m drinking it now, yes, I know too much information, but I felt like typing it so I did. Pours bubbly amber and slightly dark with a 1.5 finger tan head. Nose is sweet and malty and not rich enough for a barleywine. Taste is showing its age, a true barleywine should be superb 8 years out but this is not by any means superb. The taste is sweet and malty but kind of dead. I hope I didn’t trade anything to special for this beer. Its a pretty big ehh. Actually close to a Drain Pour if you ask me.

I am a fan of the barley wine style. With that said, I have to express some surprise with this beer. I would normally expect something very malty and sweet on the nose and the palate. Some, like Monster Ale, are balanced with hops, to the extent that they have an astringent finish. This guy wasn’t very aromatic at all. The aroma had a slight tinge of malt, with some hops, resembling a pale lager almost. It had a toasted orange appearance, with a white head. The taste was weak, a little sweetness, with some hop bitterness on the finish. I will say that the alcohol is pretty well hidden. Not terrible, but nowhere near worth the $16 for a 750 ml bottle. Still, as a Long Islander, I have to support the Blue Point Brewery somewhat.

Bottle of 2000 version. Hazy orange pour with a thin film on top. Aroma is oxidized and aged malt, slightly sweet and a little sour. Flavor is the same, a little roasted and bitter from the malt.

Bottle of the 2000 vintage courtesy of golubj/ Poured a murky orange-amber color with minimal off white head. Aroma was very malty and slightly sweet. Flavor was very malty and pretty one dimensional; caramel and a light roasted malt presence. Flavor was fairly sweet. Palate was ok.

(2000 vintage) Thin light tan head of fine bubbles. Almost no carbonation. Caramel, toffee, butterscotch and alcohol. A bunch of sweet aromas. Dark orange in color with lots of floaters. Soft buttery flavor with more butterscotch and a nice alcohol warming. Sweet malty flavor with no hops presence. Little bit of spices also. Finish is creamy, smooth and buttery. Not as flavorful as expected but still pretty damn good.

Bottle. Hazy dark yellow/light brown body with a thin ring of bubbles and a very thin film of bubbles. Nose-coriander, alcohol, formaldehyde,. Taste-chemical (formaldehyde)m weak plastic, medium bitterness on back end, medium hot, brown sugar, roasted malts, maple syrup, kinda sweet overall, hops come out on the back end.

Name: Old Howing Bastard
Date: 09/13/2008
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2003

Appearance: clear amber, wispy off white head,
Aroma: sweet caramel aroma with earthy hops, wet cardboard evident,
Flavor: sweet caramel and crystal malt flavor, bitter earthy and floral hops, mostly sweet with just a touch pf remaining hops, light bitterness in the finish, touch of peppery alcohol adds a hotness to the caramel malts,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4
-------- /> Name: Old Howing Bastard
Date: 06/14/2006
Mode: Hand Bottled
Source: Tasting
Vintage: 2005

Appearance: clear dark amber, whispy white head, bits of lace,
Aroma: sweet carmel aroma with light earthy hops,
Flavor: oxidized malt flavor, nice lasting earthy bitterness, touch of sweetness, light fruit character