Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine

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

12oz. Pours a dark brown/black. Aromas of toasted nuts, maraschino cherries and ALCOHOL. Body follows with slightly more complex hops and roasted malts but this bad boy has no hesitation in showing his alcohol guns esp. at room temperature. Wouldn’t have guessed this was a barleywine to tell you the truth.

Pours clear copper, with a thin cream-colored head, fine lacing. Thick. sweet aroma, caramel, dough, grass, plum, barley, and woody. Full body, smooth, creamy, lightly dry. Sticky-sweet caramel, apple, biscuit, and fig, the sweetness tapers off a bit in the mid-palate, hot with alcohol, leads into a lightly dry and almost imperceptibly bitter finish. Good for sipping.

On tap at Moan & Dove in Amherst. Dark copper color with min white head. Aromas of sweet malt and dried fruit. Rich full bodied and smooth. Flavors of sweet fig, caramel, toffee, and nuts. Alcohol up front but not over powering. Tasty finish. Yummy Barleywine!

2009 bottle. dont remember older Old School’s tasting like this one, but maybe my memory’s screwed up. drinkin a few of these is only gonna screw it up more :) this tastes right along the lines of their 120 and WWS in terms of alcohol and sweetness. clear orange/brown with thin lasting head. first thing i noticed after pouring was the alcohol aroma burning my nostrils. some hop aroma’s in there as well. full of flavor, lots of sweetness and alcohol, raisiny (the dates and figs), and citrusy piney hops. finishes with some alcohol burn. nice complexity for a beer this strong.

On draft at a bar near me, finally gave it a try even though it was quite expensive. Dark brown in color, small tan head. Aroma is hoppy. Taste reminds me just how much i love barley wines. Nice hoppy finish to it also. If it weren’t for the price, I could get used to drinking this.

Dogfish Head Olde School is a crystal clear golden ale with a thin, off white head that leaves nice lacing on the glass. It has a foxy aroma. It smells sweet and musty, like an ice wine. It’s thick and syrupy with a sticky finish. Indeed, it tastes kind of like an ice wine-- sweet and foxy with notes of raisins and grape jam. It doesn’t really seem like beer, but it’s pretty enjoyable.

12 oz. bottle at Malt and Vine. Glad to have found this there. Didn’t pour much head, but has a transparent copper color appearance. Very fruity aroma, and almost leaninig towards dark fruits. An almost cherry-like aroma. Fairly aromatic, but not smelling like your everyday barley wine. Subtle aroma of alcohol as well. Touches of alcohol in the taste. Very fruity tasting barley wine. Not much in the way of hops or even a nuanced malt profile. This is a very fruit-juice tasting beer. I would love to let this one sit for a year or so and try again. This is just a wee bit too sweet for me to call it a barley wine.

I poured the glass full and let it breath for a few minutes and warm up slightly. I put the glass slowly to my lips took a drink, pulled back and said damn. This beer is truly a barley wine. It’s all there. Sip this beer slow and enjoy.