Dogwood Excellent Adventure

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

Poured from an unlabeled 22 oz. bottle. Amber orange cane syrup. Toffee, vanilla, candycorn aromas, with hints of red licorice and caramel. Prevailing sugary sweetness that has strength and class. Rich, woodsy scotch and earthy honey flavor that carries some floral bittersweetness; extensive fruitiness of pineapple, golden raisins, and coconut. Oily palate is dense in body and lightly carbonated. Mild oxidation is serving it well, lending a soft, bitter woodiness; finish is soft and doughy with turbinado sugars and caramelized pears, and a bit of dry alcohol. Warm and pleasing. Thanks Brad!

Sampled at HotShotz Indy tasting May 24, 2008 - Thanks TBC2 - Aroma is caramel, raisin, toffee and earthy hops. Pours muddy brown with a small bubbly head and good lacing. Flavor matches aroma with wood and brown sugar coming out too. Palate is sweet, creamy and smooth. A tasty English style barley wine. Not sure if it was hoppier when fresh, but there wasn’t any bitterness in this bottle.

22oz bottles acquired in trades with TBC2 & goldtwins (thanks!). Poured a meduim orange with a red tint and an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, raisins, prunes, other fruitiness. and a hint of citrus. Tastes or raisins, prunes, caramel, and toffee. Some alcohol in the finish.

Bouteille de 22 oz partagée lors d’une dégustation Ratebeer Montréal chez Cathschlag. Arôme: Odeur de caramel sucré et de petits fruits foncés. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée. Présence d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel sucré et de raisins avec une pointe de citron. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Caramel en arrière goût. (Rating #1666)

Poured a hazy brownish color with good head. ARoma was lots of floral and tea bags. Flavor was of light fruits grapes and pears some apple some hops in there. Very nice beer.

Thanks to eaglefan538 for sharing. Pour was a dark orange color, with a surprising little head and good lacing. Flavor was a mish-mash of fruit, mostly overripe grapes, but pear and other fruities and some floral notes that didn’t mix well as well over a caramel malt base. A touch of teabag was present as well. The mouthfeel was a bit thin and hollow. Okay, but nothing earthshattering.

Bottle shared at Cornboys Barley Wine Blind. Okay this was the last beer of the night and even though I had just had 27 barley wines before this one I still enjoyed it thoroughly. Pours a hazy orange with hardly any head at all. Malty sweet aroma with notes of caramel and some dark fruit. Flavor is even sweeter and smoother then the aroma implies but still has a good amount of bready grains to balance the caramel and toffee sweetness. (Since this was a blind my ratings tend to be on the conservative side so a 3.7 is actually one of my highest scores)

22oz unlabeled bottle. Pours a hazy copper, nice and cloudy, with a small cream colored head that slowly recedes to a small ring around the glass. Wonderful sweet malt aroma, raisins, caramel, and prunes, some soft cotton candy sweetness and apple aroma as well. Taste is a large sugary caramel and bready sweetness along with large amounts of golden raisin sweetness, some hints of citrusy hops are discernible but nearly lost in the load of sweet maltiness. Mouthfeel is medium to heavy in body, sugariness keeps it thick, somehat sticky sweetness, creamy carbonation. A drying and nice alcohol warmth in the finish. Outstanding barleywine, no idea how old this bottle is but it is fantastic and could probably go longer also. Thanks Steve for the opportunity.