Bluegrass Bearded Pats Barleywine Style Ale

Brewed by Bluegrass Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Louisville, Kentucky USA

Bottle from SpringsLicker. January 2002 bottle. Brownish color with a little haze. Sparse white head is little more than a film on the surface. Good lacing. Sweet malt aroma. Dark fruits and raisins predominate. Medium to full bodied. Alcohol is noticeable as well as ample hopping three years later. Huge bitter finish for its age. Was this just a beast when it was younger??? Overall a very tasty Barleywine.

Bottle (Jan 2002) pours burnt caramel, small foamy off-white head, with fairly attractive lacing.   Somewhat thick and hazy, with lighter hues of caramel on the edges.   Candyish aroma, big malty sweetness, with notes of toffee and subtle dark pitted fruit.   Smells divine!   Somewhat sharp hop bitterness at first sip, quickly tamed by the immense sugary maltiness that lays underneath.   Slightly biscuity.   Decent body, but the mouthfeel isn’t as thick or full as I would have liked.   Finishes with a sweet maltiness, caramel, and lingering hop bitterness.   Not much of the dark pitted fruit came through.   Alcohol was noticable, but kept in check by the malt sweetness.   This was extremely tasty!   Wishing I had one more to lay down for a bit longer.   Thanks goes out to TAR for the trade!

Broke this out of my cellar, Jan 2002 bottle (just like the last rater Clark): Pours to an initial large frothy tan head which reduced but had a lasting top of the muddy river brown hue with oustanding lace that clings all over my snifter. The aroma was complex and wonderful! Noticed hints of carmelized malting, brown sugar, toffee, aromatic bitters, earthy yeast esters, walnut, prune, fig, clove, and moderate phenols and fusel notes. The taste starts with a heavy handed dark malt and syrupy fruit nature. More than a bit of salty and earthy overtones as well. The finish is very meaty, like a top choice steak. There is no attempt to mask the alcohol here and it does get in the way of fully enjoying the pleasure of the brew. The feel is surprisingly light upon the palate but has the noticed alcohol bite and warming. Even after 2+ years of aging, this beer has a long way to go before reaching it best taste profile. I will seek another 2002 bottle and yet it rest away in my cellar.

January 2002 bottle. DAMN! This is almost 3 years old and I just got the bottle. I didnt even realize the date when I first looked at this bottle. Thought I was going to have to age this one for a while, so this is a very pleasant surprise. Thanks a ton Jay (springslicker) this is an awesome bonus!! Immediately upon opening, a burst of aroma rushes up to greet me! Wow, this is one intense aroma. Huge amounts of the good stuff; roasted barley, toffee, sweet candied fruits, an earthy, yet sweet, rich malt base that you can inhale deeply. This is what a good barleywine should smell like. No bitter hops, no citrus, awesome!!! Transluscent body, low filtration evident! Deep cherry red, auburn and dark orange with a small but firm, creamy off-white/beige head. Lacing as well. Oh wow. Flavor delivers!!! You’ve got a mix of dry, roastiness with plenty of English toffee. I think English toffee may be my favorite flavor in barleywines, and this has lots of it. It’s dry, grainy, slightly vinous, and just full of flavor. Light chocolate, raisins, figs, plums and a HUGE yeast apparency. Earthy, dusty yeastiness abounds. Reminds me much of Kuhnhenn’s Fourth Dementia Old ale. Hint of saltiness, some alcohol notes bounce around on the palate. The alcohol get a bit too pervasive on the finish, but that is one of the only complaints I have here. Dry, earthy, woody flavor. NO HOPS!!!!! Wow, I love it when you don’t even feel the hops. This is about as British as it gets for an American brewed barleywine. Fantastic stuff and perfectly aged. Mostly smooth body, with some traces of tingly carbonation. Medium-full body with slight thinning on the end (oxidation). Where has this beer been all of my life??? Next question, how do I get a case of this!!! Thanks so much Jay, this was phenomenal.

My bottle was labeled 108 and it was bottled in 2000. Ruby red to brown in color. Frothy head for its age and style. Arome was very British, old trwigs & leaves and barley sweet. like a beef broth and brown sugar. The body was syrupy. This ie an excellent barleywine unless you are a hop freak. Sweet malty finish.

3 year old bottle given to me by the brewer. Deep chestnut brown with ruby highlights under a small, but for a Barleywine, good head. Rich complex aroma of caramel malt, dried fruits, and alcohol. Smooth, warming, sweet and fruity. Well balanced. Better than average commercial Barleywine.

Bottles Jan. ’02. Cloudy dark cherry-wood color with a smaller tan lid. Sheets of small bubbles hug the glass. Aromas of sweet malt, syrup, caramel and higher alcohols. Lots of malt all the way through. Sweet malt start leading to dryer peat malt mid to late sip. More hops flavors than bitterness. Mildly citric hops jump up and don’t seem to balance. More of a distraction than anything. Alcohol bite late in the finish followed by a chunk of dry lightly charred oak stuck in the throat. Fairly straightforward. Thank go out to slob-bert. Just realized I now can say I have had a beer from Kentucky.

Well carbonated deep amber--voluminous head. Sticky boozy brandyish aroma, quite nice actually. Sweet full on maltiness, with some depth. A tad bitter. This is pretty nice, mellow barleywine. For the most part well balanced with a decent amount of complexity. Thanks Eric!