Butte Creek Train Wreck

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

Date: 04/01/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Brewfest, Classic City

clear dark chocolate, scant head, light phonelic aroma, hot caramel malt flavor, strange hop balance, lots of sweetness in the finish, needs a better choice in hops,

Aroma: 4/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4
-------- /> I would like to rerate this beer.

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.

22oz bottle shared courtesy of Josh. Poured a medium and clear amberish color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of dark fruits and caramel. Tastes of dark fruits, caramel, some grassiness, and toffee. Thinner body.

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.

Deep ruddy amber beer. Slightly sweet rich toasted malt aroma. Chewy sweet, caramel and toast with a soft toffeeish character as well. Fairly dirty and rancid backnotes behind the otherwise solid malts. Well-named, really.

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.

Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy amber color with a small off-white head. Has a malty dark fruit and hoppy bitter aroma. Sweetish malty hoppy bitter flavor with some hints of dark fruit and caramel. Has a dry malty hoppy bitter finish with a long bitter aftertaste.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy medium amber. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (cookie, caramel), moderately hoppy (grapefruit, resin, apricot), with notes of alcohol and candied fruit (mango, pineapple, etc.). Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Full body, creamy texture, soft/lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic. A perfectly fine barleywine that’s somewhere in between American and British in style, though leaning a bit more towards the former. No idea why the score so far is so low; it’s pleasantly fruity under the hops and nicely balanced for the style. A little boozy perhaps, but that’s pretty much the only gripe.