Butte Creek Train Wreck

Brewed by Butte Creek Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Chico, California USA

Bomber from Keg & Bottle 2. Pours a medium copper color. Somewhat syrupy. Sweet candy sugar aroma with a little alcohol. Some sweet maltiness along with light trace of hoppiness. Some sweet hoppiness up front. Pretty smooth and easy drinking actually. Alcohol is hidden fairly well, although it does warm when going down. Pretty enjoyable.

Pours a slightly hazy orange/amber hue with a light slight off-white head. Aromas of a little tobbacco, some dried apricots, but fairly subdued. Mouthfeel is medium bodied. Flavors of not much.... It’s amazing, the alcohol is barely noticable and a lack of depth to the flavor. Mildly hopped and not overly sweet. Maybe a good intro brew to barleywines.

Bright amber colour. Toasty, peachy, orangey nose. Lots of different malt elements, going nowhere fast. Funny brew to describe, it’s all of everything, some of nothing but ultimately I kind of like it.

Train Wreck looked like a pretty good barley wine that exhibited a standard orange amber color. The carbonation was a little higher than average, and as a result a foamy two finger head topped the pour and stayed put. The smell was standard issue, the sweetness of the malt came across like raisins and mixed berries, and the hops were piney and resinous. The taste was a lot mellower than the smell suggested. The sweet and sour flavors seemed to be at a drinkably mild level than out to strip the enamel off your teeth. The level of bitterness was quite low, and left me wanting more of everything at the end of each sip. On a plus note, the alcohol was craftily hidden until evidenced as belly warmth. A little tinny in the mouth with none of the tongue coating qualities, and therefore little to no aftertaste. Approachable and well crafted, but ultimately not on par in terms of satisfaction compared to the bolder versions of the style coming out of others.

Pours a transparent copper orange with a thin, wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of sweet sugary caramel with a hint of grapefruity hops. First sip had some sweet malt to it, but a lot of citrusy bittering hops and a big, warming finish, but after a few sips, the beer started to meld together a little better. The sweetness came out to balance the bitterness and both worked to mask the alcohol. After my first sip I didn’t think I’d be finishing the 22oz bottle, but I’m more than half way there and showing no signs of stopping.

Pours frothy bubbly head, which doesn’t last too long. Cross between amber and yellow in color. Kind of hazy. Malty nose with tones of alcohol. VERY pronounced alcohol in flavor, with a hoppy aftertaste. Body is average, not overly thick like some barleywines can be. Hopes are there, but not crazy like in a Bigfoot. Heavy alcohol in the aftertaste and on the palate.

Bottle: Pours a murky brown color, a little head. The nose is brash with a caramel and bread debacle along with a starchy and piney hop conundrum. Alcohol is up there, and it’s spotted all over the place. Initially, mid drink, full after palate. Lingering. The bitterness sneaks up the rear and overpowers the otherwise tame malt body. Not that great.

This Barleywine pours a deep copper color from a 22oz bottle. Large sized white foamy head. Aroma is caramel, fruity and sweet. A medium bodied barleywine. Malts are caramel and sweet, touch of biscuit and fruit. Hops are grapefruity and piney. The taste is sort of like the name, it is sort of a train wreak at the moment. Big brash malts and big ass hops collide in a flavor explosion with your palate stuck in the middle. That said, it is a well balanced beer and has both a good malt backbone and a good hop profile. This beer would really benefit from a year or so in he bottle. There is a very definite alcohol flavor as well. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter with a touch of alcohol bite.