Clipper City Heavy Seas Below Decks

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

Dark reddish brown with a small off white head...Big malty sweet aroma, caramel, no alcohol...Medium body, low carbonation...Candyish flavor, big on malts, no hops, caramel and licorice...Nice alcoholic warmth...Sweet licorice finish...Yummy

Great example of an English Barleywine. Looks and tastes thinner than expected and the ABV is incredibly well hidden. Sweet without being cloying and is highly drinkable.

A great English style barley wine that ages really really well. Just did a vertical sampling starting with 2006 thru 2009. Notes of sherry as it ages. The malt profile deepens as it ages. 2009 was very good. Can’t wait to taste it in a few years too.

This has a lot of malty sweetness to it. Alcohol is present, but not too much.

Barley wine is a fantastic beer style to enjoy in the cold winter months, and Below Decks is a stylistically accurate, well done barley wine in my opinion. This beer pours to a beautiful, bright, deep amber color with a slight head that fades, and a moderate to soft carbonation. The nose on this beer is excellent with lots of big aromas of sweet and caramel malts, paired with aromas of peppery alcohol. The palate is slick on the tounge, with lots of good flavors of sweet malt, fresh bread, butter scotch, toffee, and some plummy fruit. Below Decks finishes with some more sweet toffee notes up front, then ends slightly cloying, with a soothing alcohol burn. A well done, dangerously drinkable barleywine at 11% abv. The strength of this beer is well hidden. A perfect after dinner drink, and a wonderful beer to sit and relax with.

This is one good barleywine. Enjoyable on its own, or paired with a reasonable meal, something that can’t be said for most other barleywines. The mouthfeel is quite exceptional, especially when warm - very smooth and palatable. Overall, I believe this will be a great beer in a few years, after proper cellaring.

A youthful and biting barley wine with a healthy dose of hops and a smokey persistent malt character... On the nose I get hints of Rochefort 10, well oaked Tempranillo, vanilla bean, and earth. This is certainly a more savory than sweet barley wine which indicates to me and ability to age gracefully without losing its somewhat masculine personality. As the hop bitterness begins to fade over time this bottle will be a nice addition to any ones collection.

Clear copper appearance with a large off white head and little lacing. Caramel malt aroma, layered with dark fruit and resinous hops. Fruity, malty, decently hopped taste hides the relatively high abv pretty well. Nicely balanced, full bodied, well carbonated mouthfeel with a dry, lingering finish. This is a beer that I have followed from its infancy, when it was first introduced (in a sixtel) at a local beer dinner, through many 4 packs at home, many local sightings on tap, to this last bottle that has reached the twilight of its underrated life. I think balance, and drinkability, was the key that the brewer was looking for in a style that could go over the top in many directions. It was well constructed, fairly complex and affordable. It exemplified the the oft used phrase "think globally, drink locally". Hugh, I salute you.