BridgePort Old Knucklehead

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

First had this brew on cask at the brewpub in portland. It's amazing on cask. I just opened up a bottle, 2003 vintage. It's pretty darn good in a bottle. Beautiful appearance, masks the ABV well, a little fruity. Rerate:bonus points for cask, I had it again recently.

Old Knucklehead pours to a beautiful, bright, mahogany color with a slight tan head, and virtually no carbonation, it is almost a still liquid. The nose on this beer is fantastic. Sweet malt aromas of fresh bread, toffee, and butter scotch marry with some piney hop aromas, and waves of peppery alcohol. The palate is rich, complex, and warming. Big sweet malt flavors of fresh bread, butter scotch, toffee, and vanilla coat the tongue. The body is very viscous, slick and syrupy. This beer finishes with more big sweet malt up front then dries out with a slight bitter hop bite, and a long, warming, high octane burn. Barleywines are potent brews, they weigh in at about 9%-11% abv, and will take the chill out of the coldest of bones. This beer is the perfect night cap. A great beer to sip on a cool evening while reading a book next to a snug fire. I wouldn’t match this beer with food, but if you choose to, do so with desert. This beer would go great with butter scotch pudding, custard, or even cheese cake.

This was a 1992, tasted in 2002 - lots of sediment, wonderful aroma, very tasty, may have been past it’s prime and not always cellared well. This is a very good beer, should have drank it two years ago.

Bottle #11, 2003: This barley wine pours a wonderfull, clear, ruby red mahogany color with a small, diminishing, light tan head. It has a nice malty sweet aroma with a touch of alcohol. It has a full body with soft carbonation. The flavor is mostly malty sweet with a slightly floral hop taste in the finish, though even the finish is dominated by the malts. Alcohol is well hidden. A fantastic barley wine that really put the emphasis on the malts rather than the hops, which is typical of many American barley wines. This one is extremely smooth, malty sweet, and highly drinkable despite the big ABV. Very nice.

I really liked this barleywine, which is not one of my favorite styles. Attractive pour at the brewpub and inviting. Aromas are vinous and sweet. Flavors are ever so slightly sour with caramel and toffee plus hop power. Body is rich and decadent. This is really great IMHO...a top tier barleywine.

On Tap. Very fruity aroma, of raisins/figs. Deep color of russet. Taste is of malt, slight sweetness. Very mellow hop finish. A very satisfying brew.

2003 bottle #011. Aroma is cherries, plums, roasty malt - thick fat aroma, dust, alcohol, chocolate. Dark ruby red body, very little head, lacing is nothing but a red tint sliding down the sides of the glass. Taste is thick and vinous - very winey when paired with the strong sweet malts. Behind the fruit comes roast and chocolate, drying hops and a dash of alcohol. I'm left with the taste of a cherry charms blowpop sticky on the roof of my mouth.

must say that there is little experience better than chasing an 8% ABV Beer with a 9.1% ABV beer, to make you realize, that we are all “Mortal”! But then I do have a 13% ABV beer waiting to chase these two? A luminous deep ruby color on the pour, the head majestic in size, bubbly in texture, and light beige in color and the residual lace clings lovingly to the glass. A light hit of fusel alcohol, bubble bum, maybe a sweet over ripe pineapple tone, a great sniffer to be sure, start sweet and nicely malt laden, top is middling in feel. Acidic bite at the finish, the hops pounces on your palate, spicy and persistent, quite dry aftertaste that is long lasting and a great representative to the style.