Climax Barleywine 10th Anniversary Ale

Brewed by Climax Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Roselle Park, New Jersey USA

Bottle: Pours a clear amber color with an off white head. Aroma, herbal and grassy notes, caramel malts. Flavor, some fruits, grassy notes, caramel, sweet with some brown sugar, a light herbal and grassy bitterness towards the end.

500 ml Grolsch style bottle provided by TBC.
Pours murky orange with some off white head. Thin and bubbley.
The aroma is spicy pine. Really kindof PineSol-ish. A bit of rock candy sugary aroma as well.
Very muddled. The hops don’t really say anything and the malt isn’t really there either.
Thin. Astingent. Dry.
Not really all that good.

500 ml bottle. Pours a clear ruby amber body under a small tight bubbled beige head that faded quickly to a thin ring. The nose is showing lots of toffee malt with more oxidation than expected. Some husky grains, alcohol, and brown sugar. Very candy like. Flavor is very sweet with lots of dark brown and candi sugars. Moderate alcohol and just a minimal bitterness on the finish. The beginnings of oxidation are noticable on the finish as well. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied without any sticky cloying sweetness despite the flavor. Minimal soft fizzy carbonation. Overall, this was decent, but not a whole lot distincitve about it.

500ml Bottle: Medium sweet aroma. Smells of alcohol, honey, caramel, and hops. Poured amber in color with no head at all. Hazy. A few large particles. Strange flavor. Tastes of honey, hops, pepper, alcohol, and sweet malts. Light to medium body. Thin, flat texture. Absolutely no carbonation. Totally flat. Sweet hop finish. Disappointed.

Poured a hazy copper color with a small creamy beige head. Sweat fruity malt with some floral and earthy hops. Some spice as well. The flavor was sweet and fruity with a hoppy finish. Light bitterness with a medium to full body. Some carbonic bite on the tongue.

Name: 10th Anniversary Ale
Date: 03/26/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

clear dark amber, wispy beige head, nice drippy lace, sweet slightly oxidized dark caramel malt aroma with earthy hops and a touch of alcohol, creamy body, sticky sweet caramel malt flavor, earthy hops adds some balance,
-------- /> Name: 10th Anniversary Ale
Date: 06/03/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting

clear dark red, fine beige head, sweet fruity aroma with light spicy peppery alcohol, picking up nice fruity flavor in addition to the sweet caramel, continues with the earthy balance that grows as it warms,
-------- /> Name: 10th Anniversary Ale
Date: 10/28/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting

picking some mustyness in the aroma, sweet caramel malt flavor, lots of peppery character, lasting earthy bitter finish,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

The climax 10th anniversary beer was an excellent barleywine. Mine was aged a year in my beer cellar before sampling. It had great flavor and balance for a barleywine. Not too overbearing, but I’m not sure if that is related to the aging or not.

Dark red with some brown. Aroma of maraschino and brown sugar. The flavor is of sweet sticky malts and brown sugar. The beer finishes with a bit of an oxidized taste that leavesna bad impression.