Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine

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

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!

A- Light red/bright orange hue, thin off-white head that mostly dissipates, moderate lacing S- Blend of sweet citrus and floral hops, bread malts, and alcohol, subtle tones of spices and tobacco T- Fruit syrup and citrus flavors initially, bitter hops pop in as do flavors of pears, brown sugar, bread malts, and raisins, finishes sweet with an alcohol warming M- Full-bodied, thick and viscous texture, mild carbonation D- Well-balanced and surprisingly light and fruity for this style, the alcohol is well masked at 15%, this is a very pleasant sipping beer for the evening/after dinner

Great barley wine. Lots of action going on with this monsterous beer. This one will leave you feeling silly and a little cookey

Bouteille de 12 achetée chez Beverage Warehouse (Winooski, VT). Arôme: Odeur de petits fruits et de caramel. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée voilée avec une très faible densité de bulle. Présence d’un mince col et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel fruité avce une pointe d’houblons. Longue durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture sirupeuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Légère présence de caramel et d’alcool en arrière goût. (Rating #2186)

Aroma is balanced, yet promiscuous as it dances across the unique scents of the malt, and various fruit used in the brewing/conditioning process. Pours a hazy orange-reddish brown, with a thin head which quickly fades into a film. The flavor begins with a sweetness, which is quickly shoved away with a malty must, and then finished by a sourness. The mouth feel is nice. This beer is not too thick, nor thin. It has just the right amount of bubbling, which happens to be light. I am not a fan of over/under-carbonated beers... but for this style, the carbonation is perfect. After partaking into about 6 ounces of this clever brew... I find myself pleasantly buzzed, can’t wait to finish it.

Only chink in the armor is the 15%. To me it degraded a near perfect beer. Having said that, they do an admirable job of working the booze hit in with brown sugar, figs, caramel, even some minor citrus ruckus. Massively complex. Let’s see how it ages.

12 oz bottle: Color is a rich amber with a thin head that quickly goes down. A very nice aroma that smells of dark fruit, molasses, and alcohol. With this being a higher abv offering, it has a surprisingly smooth finish (i.e. no alcohol "burn"). A complex taste consisting of a slight sweetness (brown sugar and/or caramel), darker fruits, and a little citrus. I’m a big fan of Dogfish Head’s line-up and this one definitely does not disappoint.