Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Milton, Delaware USA

on tap at papago... hazy brown amber with a small white head which fades to last as a film. the aroma... well... bananas, bubblegum, caramel, piloncilla (presumably dates), more sugar and floral alcohol which actually smells like nail polish (confirmed by several). i really had to work myself up to taste this... thing. it’s the same... lots of hot floral cheaply manufactured booze with a starchy banana aftertaste. the chewy texture and hot mouth feel just aren’t going to get it done and certainly don’t help the cause. yuck. 3/4/2/1/5/1.5

Toronado Barleywine Fest. Pours dark amber brown, dark fruit, caramel, alcohol, little malty, little hoppy.

Bottle generously put up for contest by SoLan. Thanks, Alan! Smells of rich fruit and malt but no alcohol. Flavors of brown peach flesh, figs, date, more malt, really bedraggled resinous hop and caramel. Light roast/char peeks through but is not a real factor. This bottle was from Autumn 2005 enjoyed Feb 2009. DAMN! Well worth the wait. Thanks again, Alan.

bottle - Pours slightly hazy orange with almost no head. It smells of woody caramel malts and alcohol. The flavor has a sort of bready, resin accented malt character going on and enough hops to provide some bitterness in the finish. It’s rather hot as one would expect with 15% abv and finishes with a lingering tingle. It’s very good, but in my opinion falls a little short for Dogfish Head. I know DFH loves doing extreme brews and this one’s no exception. I think it would be great with the alcohol knocked down a bit. Maybe a few years aging would help, but also 13% might be nicer than 15%.

Draft at Bar Great Harry. Pours reddish brown with a hazy but thin white head. Aroma of plum, brandy, and honey. Flavor is tart lemon, dark ripe fruits, and honey. Packs a wallop, alcohol is very present but not overpowering. Well balanced and suprisingly smooth for such a high ABV. Very tasty.

12oz bottle $4. I’m no longer a Dogfish fan but I was curious about the barleywine. I was hoping my love for barleywine would trump the 15% ABV but it was not to be. This was a turbid orange color with not much head save a bubble or two. The smell was like citrus cleaning product and alcohol. The taste was too sweet, hot, not my thing at all. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 01-31-2009 18:50:52

Bottle from Total Wine. A very nice reddish orange pour)slighty cloudy) Aroma is sweet with notes of banana bread, sweet malts and honey. Flavor has some muscadine grapes, slightly underripe peaches, wildflower honey and some dried orange peel. This is a fun beer and worthy of rating # 1400. Cheers.

Bottle received from my brother in law for my birthday (Thanks Neil!) Pour was a hazy apricot brown with very minimal carbonation. Aroma was pleasantly sweet and malty. Flavor was nice and malty, with flavors of raisins and other dark fruits. Finish was good, warming and a little boozy (in a good way). A very nice brew, but I wouldn’t recommend more than one in a night!