BridgePort Old Knucklehead

Brewed by BridgePort Brewing (Gambrinus Company)
Style: Barley Wine
Portland, Oregon USA

Bottle no. 12. Poured a light caramel color with a light malty and chocolate aroma. Was too carbonated. Had too much acidity, medium hops, and a little bit of dark fruit. Definitely needed more age.

Bottle from Capone’s samples while receiving a Christmas gift on 12/21/08. Pours dark brown with off-tan head. Nose is ripe berries, caramel malt, hops, pprunes, bourbon. Tastes caramel malty, fruity, with hops, slight funk, cheese, and a medium rich, complex palate. Not world class, but I’d drink this one again any time, especially while receiving a special X-mas gift. And this is the amazing thing: as much as I liked this one, I can completely understand GlouGlou Burp’s rating before me. This one is a bit of an enigma.

In short: A sweet syrupy and very fruity American Strong ale of some kind. Unsettling vinous/grape fruity character.
How: Bottle 12oz, about 1 year of age.
The look: Dark cloudy amber body topped by a small beige head
In long: Nose is unexpectedly vinous with notes of cherries, pomegranates and other fruity flavours I don’t want in an American Barley Wine. Taste is sweet, very sweet and fruity. Again a weird fruity character here. Sweet cranberry juice, sweet figs, sweet grapes, that type of stuff. Way too sweet. A little unpleasant grapes sourness. Syrupy body/mouthfeel. I didn’t like it. Weird peculiar beer that just didn’t feel right. As strangely put together as someone needing a hearing aid because of a plantar wart.

As the Old Knucklehead leaves office, I thought I’d sample this brew. 22oz from Bottletrek. Moderate garnet pour with a 1.5 finger foam head that dissipates fairly quickly but leaves substantial lacing. Very sweet aroma, sharp toffee notes blending with malts, bourbon, vanilla, and an odd spice that I can’t place. Even at a year or so, it’s a tad hot. But there are abundant dark fruits that come to the fore as the beer settles in, combining with heat and spice to give the beer an oddly mentholated quality. Overall, there’s not a whole lot distinctive about it but it’s a solid, above average barleywine.

Light brown pour with a small white head. Very fruity smell, definite malt and maybe a little hop to it. Malty fruity flavor with more hop than you’d expect in a barleywine. An okay offering, but not my preferred take on the style.

Pours brown with a thin tan head. Smells of pesiny hops, some dark fruit, sweet malt. Tastes syruppy and overly sweet with a heavy astringency.

Draught @ Bridgeport Brewing. Pours a dark amber color with a small off-white head. Has a sweet malty slightly fruity hoppy vanilla aroma. Sweetish malty hoppy bitter dark fruit flavor with some oaky hints. Has a sweetish malty hoppy dark fruit finish with some hints of oak.

Muted fruity aroma with some plum and raisin. Slightly off flavor of dirty and funky cheese. Not very pleasant there. Lacking the complexity and balance of many of the bw’s I’ve had recently.