 502Flavors (208), Kentucky, USA
Jun 28, 2008
12 oz bottle into sniffer. Pours a rich amber red with a big barely off-white head, lighter and clearer than I would expect - it also had a thinner pour than expected for the abv. and the style. This stuff smells great: citrus juicyness, chewy malty sweetness, caramel, honey, apricots, and a trace of alcohol. Flavor isn’t as complex and exhibits a much stronger alcohol flavor (though still not too too bad for 10.8 abv.). The alcohol sort of outweighs everything with a sort of watery fruity backbone. It is very strange for a barley wine - the same goes for its feel on my palate. It is very very thin for its abv and its style - little to no carbonation and smooth. but alcohol warms and punches the stomach. Overall: this is a crazy unique brew that seems a bit out of balance, like it needs a lot more heavy malt and maybe some age; worth a try but I don’t think I could have more than 1 at a time. It did seem to get a bit more bearable as it warms.
The_Epeeist (918), Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA
Aug 14, 2008 12 oz bottle, born 2006. Clear garnet brown with some beige bubbles. Nose is caramel with herbal notes of sage and mint. Almost medium body, oily, with an odd sour tang. Taste is watery toffee and lemon that turns nasty with formaldehyde and bitter greens. I had a fresh one and don’t remember the harsh aftertaste. Bad ager or bad bottle?
Flyer (104), Hartland, Wisconsin, USA
Aug 12, 2008 Color is caramel-orange with a quickly diminishing head. Aroma is generic-ale fruity with some peach and cherry. The flavor has some nice maltiness and toasty biscuit, very smooth, not very intense for a barleywine. Finishes with some pine-resin hoppiness. Not a typical barley wine, in some good ways, some not so good ways.
pumpmaster (265), Florida, USA
Aug 10, 2008 12 ounce bottle purchased at Big C Liquors in Orlando, FL for $2.50 Very good.
DrDavid (117), , Vermont, USA
Aug 8, 2008 (Bottle). Sweet fruit aroma. Deep copper color with almost no head. Flavor is fruity, sweet, with an alcohol finish. Sprightly, but not particularly complex. Perhaps the 2007 I had would have benefited from more aging.
kmeves (997), Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, USA
Aug 7, 2008 Pours a clear orange with a minimal head. The aroma is medium sweet, big caramel malt and a bit medicinal. Flavor is very malty and fruity with a noticable alcohol finish. Rich texture, medium bodied.
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