Boulder Beer Killer Penguin Barleywine

Brewed by Boulder Beer Company
Style: Barley Wine
Boulder, Colorado USA

Appearance: Pours a clear, dark garnet-hued body with a small, frothed, off-white head. Smell: Caramelly crystal malt nose. Cherry fruitiness. Fresh-brewed ice tea. Touch of spruce. Blast of ethanol. Taste: Caramel with a dash of southern iced tea and a bulky crystal malt sweetness. Topped with two, maybe three maraschino cherries. Spruce hints. Citrusy hops with a moderate bitterness. Bittersweet, boozed up finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: A little hot, a little harsh when first released, I’ve got some bottles of the ’06 in the cellar which will soon be joined by the ’07 vintage for a long, quiet, much needed rest.

2007 bottle. Warm roasted caramel aroma with some alcohol and raisin. Dark copper red color with a white head that quickly ringed. Medium to full body with creamy carbonation. Roasted dark malt with heat and dark fruit. Very smooth and tasty. Finish is a bit sweet and there’s not a great deal of bitter. One heck of a good drink though.

2005 bottling. Clear copper color with a frothy head. Strong smell of figs, dates, raisons, caramel is lightly oxidized. Med/heavy body. Decent taste is bittersweet with caramel, pit fruits, and hot alcohol. Pretty decent aged brew here. 103006

(2007 vintage) Starts with an aroma of sugar, fruit, and alcohol. Pours a dark reddish-amber, with about a finger of off-white head. More of a roast/caramel flavor to this beer then anything else. Light mouthfeel, alcohol hidden very well in the flavor. Not a bad barleywine, but nothing special.

From Uber. Nice ruby color, with a nice cream colored head. Aroma is very malty and sticky, with maple syrup, caramel, and a faint hoppiness. Taste is lightly alcoholic, some toffee, caramel, dried fruit, black cherries. Doesn’t have much depth for a barleywine, but by no means is this a bad beer.

22oz bottle. Fruity yeasty bread aroma. Red body, not much of a head. Starts off with a killer dose of bitter burn. Then a sweet fruit juice flavor and on the finish a caramel nutmeg. Body texture little thinner than most barley wines. Alright but just didn’t have a wow factor to it for me.

Tap at HDG Daze. I was busy while drinking this one and not much stood out. Very sweet aroma and taste but a little weak as well. Not bad overall but I like more in my BW’s.

2007 bottling, one of many of have received in trade and also bought locally, served in a NB worthy glass. Pours a deep brown with ruby highlight topped by a fading frothy head and good lace upon the glass. The aroma has notes of caramel, toasted and even a touch of charred malt, light pine and herbal hops, plum, fig, green apple and light grapefruit esters, as well as some Grains of Paradise spice. The taste starts with sharp fruity quality in conjunction with a soft and sweet grain background. The hop bitterness comes about to play in midsection and does not let go. The bitterness seems to overpower the malt which is not a good thing with a Barley Wine IMO. Perhaps aging will improve this situation. The mouth feel is lively and aggressive with a medicinal touch on the finish. It is an okay offering but I want more richness. Lets see what the other bottles do with some cellar time. will need to re-rate this in late 2008.