Clipper City Heavy Seas Below Decks

Brewed by Clipper City Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Baltimore, Maryland USA

VINTAGE: 2008 Pours a clear caramel brown color with prominent ruby highlights. Half a finger head of thin foam. Minimal retention and very little lacing. Good malt presence, though not really hefty. A little nuttiness and some fruity hints. A slight touch of hops bitterness. Burnt caramel and brown sugar. Dark molasses. Fruity sweetness. Cherries, grapes, peaches and light notes of pineapple. Nice hint of chocolate. Good amount of spice in the finish. Malty and sweet, but not overpowering, at all. Very good balance, overall. An unusual barleywine, to me, at least. Hops are very subdued. Malts are mostly deep down, underneath the fruity flavors. Very interesting. Mouthfeel is nice and thick. Minimal carbonation level, yet it somehow retains a very nice creaminess. Between the slight sweetness and the 10%ABV, which is very well masked, BTW, this would be hard to put down more than a couple in a sitting. Very good flavor, but it would lay you out, if you gave it the chance.

Received a 12-oz bottle via trade with kmweaver (vintages 2006 and 2007). Pours a semi-clear dark amber colored brew with a fast dissolving off-white head. Aroma of sweetened caramel, toffee, pitted fruit and a touch of cherry Taste is very rich with flavors of toffee, dark pitted fruits and a little alcoholish aftertaste. Finish was smooth with some dark pitted fruit flavors. Each year aging smoothed out the flavors.

Dark amber color. Aroma is of toffee, nuts, roasty, and caramel. Taste is a little sweeter with some chocolate, caramel, and nuts. This is a good one.

nose is fleeting toffee neither crunchy nor sticky with late hit of isopropyl. body is deep amber with thin film head and light carb. flavor is more caramel then toffee with another heavy booze note and quick acidic finish, nearly fruity though brief. like a high gravity malt liquor, the fusels serve to quickly numb the tastebuds and this becomes more quaffable quickly but that still does not excuse its rough edges.

12oz bottle. 2005 Vintage. Poured a reddish/amberish color, somewhat hazy, and an average sized off white head. Aromas of some nuttiness, roasty, caramel and some dark fruits (dark cherries). Tastes of the same nuttiness, lighter roasty, lighter dark fruits, and a little bready. Alcohol content hidden.

Smells of sweet peppermint candy cane and dark heather honey. Flavor is more peppermint with a bit of floral hop in there, definitely finishes like cough syrup with the flavor and the stickiness. This could easily be marketed as a Christmas peppermint barleywine and noone would ask any questions. Thanks clipper City. 2009 12 oz.

A nice clear ruby colour, appealing to look at. Quite the sweet aroma (fruity along the prune-fig-date spectrum) with pine overtones. Lively carbonation adds to the appearance as well as the palate. Well worth drinking.

The appearance is Coca-Cola brown with a big foamy head. Deep red tint with lots of carbonation. The smell is heavy liquor/alcohol smell.. Whiff of mild whiskey. Roasted malt with a dark cherry sweetness. Grainy barley malt. Dark and full of alcohol. Taste is overly sweet like a winter ale, only with more alcohol. More sweet cherry than a typical barleywine. Roasted barley is not enough balance. Too puckery cherry sweet. Feels thick and heavy. Syrupy. Good texture (too bad the taste doesn’t quite live up). Not at all bad, but not something I’d crave. Decent, not fantastic.