 Narnad (720), Wonder Lake, Illinois, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 5/5 | 16/20 |
Dec 20, 2009 On tap on 12/18/09 and served in an greatly over sized snifter. Arrived to the table with a semi-viscous look to it, dark ruby brown highlights (burnt caramel looking), filmy off-white head that quickly fades down to a few spotty, scum spots. Heavy toasted grainy note, caramel sweetness, lots of citrus hops, estery fruity note - apple, light banana and plum notes. Nose is reminiscent of a Belgian strong ale more so than a barley wine. Flavor beings with a strong ester fruitiness, some light raspberry fruitiness from the yeast, very sugary sweet, modest hops bite but most of the flavor is from the malt. A very sweet candy sugar presence is there as well. Hops adds a very mild citrus and low grassy presence. Body is very full with a high carbonation that makes the flavors pop. This brew has a very, very sticky texture with great head retention. Overall an excellent beer. Alcohol not hot at all, even with the 10% ABV content. Flavor has a hops presence but not as strong as you normally find for barley wines and the yeast used produces a very strong estery note in the nose and flavor, really making it feel more like a Belgian strong ale. Overall a pretty unique brew but one that is very good.
esjaygee (1578), Oak Creek, Wisconsin, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 |
Aug 16, 2009 From the infuser at the GTMW. Speckled mud color with next to no head and a chunk of oak floating in my glass. Aroma of brown sugar, oak, alcohol, caramel and a touch of bourbon. Pretty smooth consistency with moderate alcohol bite at the end. Brown sugar, toffee, oak, mild fruit and caramel dominate the flavors with only a minor hop presence. Pretty solid effort.
Philip (436), Illinois, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 |
Aug 13, 2009 Great Taste, 2009. This was one of my favorite bourbon barleywines of the day, and it certainly gave Great Dane’s a run for the money, which is also very good. Strong notes of butterscotch here with more butter and richness on the finish. Caramel, toffee, and vanilla, with dried cherry. Very complex, and the bourbon was not overwhelming. Excellent, and a nice surprise from a relatively unknown brewer.
marchcow (664), Coralville, Iowa, USA
| 3.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 6/10 | 3/5 | 14/20 |
Aug 12, 2009 Sampled at GTMW ’09. Cheesecake and syrup aromas. Rich dark brown color with a dense head. Flavors of caramel apple and wood popsicle stick, with a light sourness in the background. Rich bitter palate with more popsicle stick on the duration. Ok, but the flavor was less promising than the aroma and appearance.
madvike (346), Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 |
Aug 9, 2009 Sampled @ GTMW ’09 - Pours deep amber with barely a head. Smells of bourbon, raisins, toffe, caramel--just about everything looking for in a BB barley wine. Taste is more of the same, with a nice booze/hops finish. Some barley wines dial up the hops too much or feel like they need a chaser or a mixer. This was smooth and never made me cringe--I loved it.
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