Clipper City Heavy Seas Below Decks

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

No head to speak of; reddish cola-coloured beer. Fruity nose, fruitcake with markedly pineapple - even canned pineapple - and alcohol in the background. More bitter in the flavour; again sweetish with fruit (pineapple) but set off by indistinct bitterness. Alcohol present, probably some fusels. Well bodied and slick, oily, some alcoholburn. It’s pleasing in a mile way, but - as exemplified by the pineapple, that is a very primary ester - complexity is not the main feature of this barely wine (pun intended). Thanks to DavidA!

2006 Bottle. 10% ABV according to bottle. Nice aroma. Seems to have held up well. Not sure why this is rated so low. Maybe people need to age this one. It’s pretty malty, but it’s not overly sweet the way barley wine can be. ABV is well masked. Solid beer.

Bottle from Total Wine. Pours a small tan head over a brown-tinged amber body. The aroma is subtle with hints of fruits and berries. Flavors include caramel, malts, subtle yeast in the forefront, apples, and toffee. The high ABV is present but not hot. Medium/full body and medium carbonation. This is a fairly good barleywine and one of the better beers from this brewery that I’ve tried so far.

bottle, amber brown color, good tight foam, aroma of diaper pail and old butter, flavor of buttery toffee, bitterness on the finish

bottle at Coles Barleywine Tasting 2009. Pours amber brown. sweet malt aroma, caramel, some booziness. Taste is sweet caramel malts, touch of butterscotch. ABV is well disguised. decent

2008 12oz. Pours a nice copper brown with a thin off white head that has great retention but is quite thin for the duration. Aroma is caramel, toffeed nuts, toasted grain, some citrus and pine hops, a hint of straw and some melon. Flavor is lots of burnt caramel, some pine, pineapple, apple, mandarin orange, some melon, hints of hazelnut covered in butterscotch. Finish is fruity, sweet bread and peppery spice and a relatively low bitterness. There is a sweet barley aftertaste that seems kinda weird. Palate is medium, pretty highly carbonated, sticky and really, really oily its like I just put on chapstick. I might have to age the other bottles, this stuff is a little hot still.

bottle dated 2008 pours coppery with a nice malt and golding aroma, good initial head and good lacing, smooth beer without a hot flavor considering it’s young age, nice balance of hops and malt, a rather sweet barleywine but would probably dry out with age, 10% alcohol is well hidden

bottle poured a dark amber color with a ring of off white head on the glass and a still appearance. aroma has mild malt, sweetness, over ripe fruit, and an odd nutty thing. mouth feel is on the thin side and the carbonation low. flavor has a malted body but not quite big enough for a barley wine. an interesting fruited side picks up and there is some lower level bitterness. I can see why the reviews are mixed because this does not really pop in any direction. the alcohol at 11 percent is a surprise because you cant smell or taste it at all.