Carolina Old 392 Barleywine Style Ale

Brewed by Carolina Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Holly Springs, North Carolina USA

Bottle dated 12/20/06 and purchased at the brewery. Poured a rusty reddish orange with a thin but firm head. Nice taut but restrained sugary aroma. The flavor seems iniitally strong and sugary, but it mellows more and more as I sip. It almost has the sting of grapefruit juice without the citrus fruitiness, it’s more of a quiet pine-cone basis that only subtlely hints at the high ABV. (#2840, 5/6/2007)

This is my first Barleywine. From the tap. Wow. For some reason I expected Barleywine to be something really out there. Thjis was actually a really smooth and nice beer. Very nice head with incredible lacing. The extra alcohol blended nicely with the hops. Well done Carolina Brewery.

Bottle from 19641948. Amber color with frothy cream colored head. Smelled citrusy like an IIPA. The taste was that of an IIPA too. Lacing all over the glass. Earthy dirt like bitter finish. You know, this would be a decent IIPA,but a not so good barleywine. I’m just sayin.

8.7% ABV, bottled on 11/21/06. The aroma was malty and lightly alcoholic with a citrusy hop character and a bit of a floral note. The hops became a bit grassy as the head fell back. The amber brew had a moderate off-white head which fell slowly and laced the glass. The flavor was quite bitter with a piney and grassy hop presence coupled with citrusy grapefruit and a bit of orange. Malt chimed in to assist with the balance and although quite prevalent the beer still succumbed to bittering and hop flavor. The body was medium full and with a moderate level of carbonation the mouthfeel was creamy. A nice barleywine, more in common with a Double IPA, but still a very good brew. 12 ounce bottle.

Courtesy of Badgerben. This barleywine is loaded with hops. I often don’t like my barleywines loaded with hops, but this makes it work very well. Lots of fruity and floral hops in the aroma, so much so I was expecting an IPA. Gold color and minimal cloudiness. Flavor is mostly hops like the aroma but here the alcohol shows just a little bit, but overall it is hidden well and I am surprised to see it is 9.3%. Some malt sweetness, but the hops dominate.

Pours an orangish amber. Nice citrusy hop bite on the nose. The flavor echoes the hops, but seem a little unbalanced, especially since it is not even super hoppy. A nice beer, but not great.

Courtesy of a trade with OldGrowth. Thanks! Copper color with a thin head. Fairly strong citrus hop aroma. Not to Hopslam levels, but definitely pronounced. The malt taste is kind of subdued. The hops are not overwhelming, but just edging it enough to be noticed. Think of an APA on steroids, that’s this.

12oz bottle shared courtesy of Zrrbrrt. Bottle labeled, botled on 11/21/06. This one also had 8.7% alc printed on it. Poured a medium to deep amber color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of light caramel, orange peels, pine, and some dark fruits. Tastes of pine, citrus, caramel, and some dark fruits.