Dogwood Excellent Adventure

Formerly brewed at Dogwood Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Bottle. Mild barleywine nose-caramel, dark fruit, brown sugar. Dry woody spice, caramel, tannic, molasses. A good solid unintimidating barleywine in the English style.

I was very impressed: Bottle via JCW via me via goldtwins [long story] - thanks, Larry! The aroma here just kills me; very earthy and sweet caramel, extremely natural. The flavors are the most beautiful English toffee sweet, with a little wood and leaf. Not much of a hop presence except some pepper at the end of the finish; this is a malt lovers dream. Light-colored and unfiltered, this was surprisingly delicious.

22-oz. bottle from TheBeerCellar2. Pours cloudy, hazy amber and bronze with enough head to produce spotty lacing. Aroma is yeast (sour sweat) and malt (nutty, caramel roasted), buttery fruit (apple, figs). Medium bitterness and acidity, sweetness with tart hop, pear, fig and apple, caramel roasted malt, yeast (sweat). Full bodied and smooth palate that goes dry.

Incredible aroma: thick, rich, fruity and very sweet...cherries, plums, woodiness. The flavor is overly sweet - yes, too sweet, and the alcohol is a little bit too evident. Some caramel, but I think this is a little too underdeveloped. Not bad...I’m disappointed I can’t try another in 2-4 years from now.

Thanks to TheBeerCellar2 for this rare specimen - somewhat cloudy burnt red in color - aroma of caramel, cinnamon, black cherry, raisins - oxidation is evident in the aroma as well - flavor of overripe apples, toffee, some almost funky mustiness, a hint of strawberry - some spicy hops come in late, along with nice warming alcohol - very well-crafted.

Great big thanks to Matt (TheBeerCellar2) for the trade thus enabling me to try this hard to find beer. Murky red-amber with a densely particles light tan head that fades to a thick ring. The aroma is quite nice: loads of ripe fruits, caramel, and light alcohol. The flavor is caramel and dark well-ripened fruits. Alcohol comes throught but in no way too much. The hops have faded a good bit but there is still a pretty big bitter bite to it. Full smooth palate with a wee bit of a prickle on the tongue. Nice stuff, too bad it never made it into full distribution.

Bottle shared by the brewer at an Ale Atlanta tasting. Solid all-around barleywine. Clear with red dominant. Smooth, slight alcohol but it has been aged into submission. Rich malts and pine, blending the best of the ying and yang of brewing. Simple, elegant. Too bad it isn’t commonly available. // I had a second bottle that I re-rated in a tasting six weeks later, and I gave exactly the same ratings.

Home bottled. Thanks to KP for sharing. Dark orange gold color. Medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is fruity and sweet. A medium to full bodied Barley Wine. Malts are fruity and sweet. Very sweet malt and fruit flavors. Nice balance. Smooth taste. Nice warming beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is sweet.