Bluegrass Bearded Pats Barleywine Style Ale

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

Name: Bearded Pat’s Barleywine
Date: 11/07/1997
Source: Brewfest, Real Ale Festival

dark amber, whispy head, rich malt aroma with apparent heavy hopping, rich malt flavor, lots of alcoholic esters, good tounge shaving bitter finish,
-------- /> Name: Bearded Pat’s Barleywine
Date: 11/01/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: aa

muddy dark amber, wispy beige head, sweet caramel malt aroma balanced by earthy hops, rich caramel malt flavor, lots of earthy bitterness, lasting bitter finish, touch of alcohol,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

(draft 2001 version) Clear mahogany body with beige head. Aroma is sweet, maple syrup, caramel. Taste is sweet, grapefruit, maple/caramel, finishes with moderate alcohol burn. Medium-full body with some resin.

(Bottled Dec 2006) Pours a cloudy dark orange body with a thick creamy beige head and good lacing. Aroma of cherry, caramel, chocolate, toffee, orange, and brown sugar. Flavor of caramel malt, maple syrup, citusy hops, breadiness, chocolate, and figs with a bitter finish.

12oz bottle. Poured a medium to deeper and cloudy brownish color with a larger sized off white head. Aromas of toffee, nuts, caramel, and citrus. Tastes of caramel, some dark fruits, citrus, chocolate, and brown sugar sweetness. Alcohol content hidden. Nice lacing left on the glass.

Bottle... Murky prune-colored ale with a small, creamy, off-white head. Vinous, caramel, chocolate, dried plum and red apple nose. Heavy caramel malt sweetness with an entire regiment of boozy and metallic hop bitterness on it’s heels. Nice balance overall, but leans just a touch on the sweet side... just a touch. Full-bodied with a whole-milk mouthfeel and subdued carbonation. Lengthy, moderately bitter, drying finish. Kudos to shigadeyo for providing the bottle!

Cellared since January of 2002: Pours a deep mahogany ruby with a nicely-lacing, airy tan head. Earthy caramel malt and complex aged dark fruit aroma. Body starts with a nice malty viscosity and good sweetness balanced with some more hoppy bitterness toward the dry, lightly warming finish. Well balanced throughout, but could hide the alcohol a little better. I’d still say this has aged well and is probably better than it was fresh.

My Bottom Line:
Fruity caramel malts topple cheesy wooden hops in this nearly flat, withered Barley Wine.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-There is no head whatsoever atop the hazy red.
-The decent hop bitterness was wooden and leafy.
-There was no complexity at all in here, on top of it being a tad tired. Quite boring for was is meant to be a serious sipper.
-The fruitiness was not really defined.

Bottle.

Rating 800: Pours ruby red with a very thin head. Smells oakey with some peaches, cherries, cognac and cobwebs. Taste is buttery with some nice fruity notes initially donimating before backing off to let some of the more subtle scotch like qualities take over. Finish is sweet with some mild sherry notes (oxidation creeping in). Very good BW.