 keepersj12 (774), Sicklerville, New Jersey, USA
Jun 23, 2009 This was oak aged at the brewery. Nice oak flavor. Very dark with a small head. Fruity aroma and taste. Hidden kick.
Hophead22 (1056), Redlands, by way of Wisconsin,, California, USA
May 3, 2009 Growler from goryshkewych, thanks George. Super dark pour, pitch black, never seen a barley wine this dark, had very thin tan head as well. Different aroma, sweet, almost like smelling grape kool aid, very floral as well. Flavor is slightly sweet, some good maltiness with a touch of hop bitterness in there with just a hint of alcohol in the finish. A bit thin, not as full bodied as I would like, overall a pretty good barley wine though.
LinusStick (1830), Moon Twp, suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Apr 8, 2009 Blah. A horrific barley wine. Aroma was next to nothing. Pretty much just metal with a hint of alcohol. Pour was a nice deep dark brown (darker than most BWs) with swirling bubbles and a thin off white film for a head. Taste was very weak and thin. Mostly stale alcohol with hints of roasted malt and some kind of weird fruitiness. No carbonation whatsoever and a flat but wet aftertaste. Board says the OG was 1.095...can’t see how that can be right with how thin and watery this beer was.
pjweaver (133), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Jan 4, 2009 Snifter from oak chip cask.
Pours thick and dark, with a thick lingering white head. Smells sweet and boozey, like a good port/sherry mix. Hints of cherry and deep red fruits. Big and boozy on the tongue with hints of dark chocolate and tropical fruits. Thick clingy palate...hits you quick.
estoppel (1028), Buffalo, New York, USA
Nov 29, 2008 Draft at brewpub. Dark brown body, smallish head, malty nose. This had some chocolate notes, with spiciness. Not usual for the style, but decent.
blankboy (3157), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Apr 18, 2008 Draught at Pizza Plant, Williamsville, N.Y. 2005 Vintage. Pours a clear golden-orange with a small diminishing off-white head. Aroma has a nice amount of hoppiness to it along with caramel malt in the back -- a bit mild for the style but pleasant. Flavour’s also a touch mild but still quite nice, and you’d never know this was 10%. Plenty of hops backed by caramel malt along with fruit and a dry, bitter finish. Medium bodied. Pretty good but the most impressive aspect of this beer is how easy it goes down, dangerously so.
HogTownHarry (3922), Toronto (Harbourfront), Ontario, Canada
Apr 17, 2008 Draught. At Pizza Plant (Walker) in Williamsville. 2005 vintage, according to the board. Clear walnut-amber pour with a small drizzle of off-white head. Good balanced aroma, appleseed bitterness, caramel malt, strong alcohol and a fair bit of light fruit. Very dry taste, more bitterness than malt, fruit a mild dry woody notes in the finish, quite pleasantly boozy throughout. Quite a light, slick, astringent body, and while it had obviously smoothed out and blended well, my impression was another year or two would make it even better.
hiddenvariable (194), pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Feb 28, 2008 sampled at kelly’s hell with the lid off 2008. pours a hazy mahogany with virtually no head. scent of rotting vegetables, alcohol, and some citrus hops. tastes surprisingly better, with a decent caramel malt flavor coming out over ok and sour fruit notes. finishes quite tart, which i rather enjoyed even though it seemed to be accidental. medium body, sticky mouthfeel, light carbonation. i rather think this had something wrong with it.
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