Climax Barleywine 10th Anniversary Ale

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

On tap at Barcade: It was labeled just as Climax Barley Wine, at 9% ABV, but I’m assuming this is the same beer. Deep rusty orange in color with some lighter yellowish hues at the edges. Very sweet and candy-like aroma. Sweet candied-peaches dominate. It’s a bit thin in body, with a predominately sweet flavor. Tons of peachy fruity notes dominate. There’s maybe a light hint of citrus following the peachyness. The finish is sweet and slightly syrupy, without much detection of hops. Although there’s not enough bitterness, this is still a somewhat tasty and drinkable barley wine.

Rich Dark Brown Color with Light Tan Han. Very Slowly Receding Head. Alcohol and Drying Malt on the Nose. Subtle Hint of Staleness. Thick Sudsy Mouthfeel Initially..Then Quickly Quite Watery.. Caramel Syrapy Malt...Lightly Bready. Prune/Fig Dried Aftertaste. Some Nice Things, But May Need a Bit of Tweaking.

I’m not sure what happened to this beer, but I think something went wrong. This tasted like a belgian style barleywine, there was something funky and a bit sour in the flavor. Poured red/copper with a thin white head. Very thin on the palate and high carbonation (making me think infected). Finish was fruity and sour with a slight dry estery finish.

500ml swingtop via trade with zathrus13 - thanks Jeff! - Pours dark copper with a nice large tan head that stayed very well and laced the sides in a sheet. Aromas of big c-hops over a good dose of caramel and some toffee malty notes. Flavor is a lot of the same. Big presence of hops at the finish especially grapefruit. Nice full body with good balance. This is a pretty nice barleywine and one certainly worthy of an anniversary brew..

500mL bottle. Hazy dark orange with a huge off white head requiring several pours. Mild alefruit, heavy malty sweetness, and some citric spicy hops in the aroma. Ruddy caramel, raisin and plum malt flavors. Turning orange in the finish, with lingering bready caramel and a fairly assertive alcohol presence. Mouthfeel is medium, almost chewy.

Tap at barcade - fairly light red color - very light aroma, mostly of cherry and some citrus fruit, plus some spicy hops - quite thin-bodied and very light in flavor - some caramel malt manifests itself, but this is mostly dominated by light fruity esters and a dash of hops - very thin in the finish - unimpressive.

Bottle from Zathrus. Pours ruby red and brown with a nice off white head. The aroma is citrus, sweet--very interesting. Fizzy palate with a medium mouthfeel. The taste is...different. Plenty of orange zest and other citrus flavors. Lots of sweet malts as well. It seemed a little confused to me.

Bottle sampled with Stegosaurus. Pours amber with an off-white head. Aroma of caramel, hops, and alcohol. The flavor is moderately bitter, citrus, and alcohol. Good beer.