Dogwood Excellent Adventure

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

Sampled August 2007
Quite rich smelling, clearly starting to age a bit, but it does not seem to be detrimental yet. The hazy, concentrated amber colored beer is topped by an initially, fat, one-finger thick, tan colored head. Aromatic notes of concentrated fruitiness (raisins & prunes), herbaceous & fruity hops (both citrus notes and a berry character) as well as aged malt notes of sherry, caramelized malt and significant brown sugar are all quite noticeable here. Some light oxidation notes have added a complex, almost meaty (really more umami like than meat like) quality to the aroma that really integrates quite well and makes this all that more complex. This still has a fairly vibrant malt and hop character to it; the age has muted these notes for sure, but not yet suppressed them and it has added other layered aromatics to the nose.

Creamy feeling as it hits my mouth, the carbonation is fairly light, but still adds a touch of a prickly sensation to the tongue. The oxidation / aged notes are not quite as present as in the aroma, and they certainly were not dominant there, but they do adds some dustiness to the malt character, a touch of sherry and it definitely seems to amplify fruity notes of prunes and raisins (all of these notes are more noticeable towards or even well into the finish). The hop character still has a vibrant edge to it (this must have been quite hoppy when fresh, because it is still quite hoppy); notes of candied grapefruit, orange zest, tangelo, a backdrop of menthol and pine as well as a solid, yet in no way dominating bitterness. Thick and chewy without being sticky; this is definitely a sipping brew as the malt and hop character demand that you savor each sip.

This beer might be at its peak right now; ample fresh hop and malt notes are still quite noticeable, but these are tempered by an almost perfect amount of age and oxidation that is not yet dominating the flavor profile, instead it is accentuating & adding to the complexity of this brew. This is one of those beers that seems to grow on me; dissecting the flavor components and aged components is such an enjoyable task that this beer only get better with each sip. It is surprising at times how well integrated and how much the aged / oxidation character add to this brew; with the big caveat that I have not had this beer when it was fresh, I think that this really might be peaking right now. This reminds me a lot of the balance, if not necessarily the specific flavors, of that magical time for every vintage of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot when it is between 2 and 4 years of age. This ends up being so tasty, such a consummate sipping brew, I can’t help but thoroughly enjoy this brew. My enjoyment of this is certainly a bit situational, but regardless this is one impressive brew. I see that the early ratings state that this was sort of an English balanced Barley wine, if this is true then watch out, because this might still improve for another 10 years

This bottled brew from a rating party on Dark Lord Day poured a head of foamy fine to large sized light brown colored bubbles that were and left behind a transparent softly carbonated light brown colored body and a fair lacing. The aroma was bourbon and malt hop. The smooth mouth feel was weakly tingly at the start mediumly tingly at the finish. The flavor contained notes of malt hops sweet dark malt and brown malt. Delicious and one I would certainly like to have again.

22 oz bottle, via goldtwins I believe. Pours a clear dark copper body under a creamy short lived beige head that left lots of sticky fine lacing. Beautiful lazy carbonation. Nose is heavily malty with lots of caramel, but also a richer deeper alcohol soaked fig. Not a whole lot of hops in the nose yet, but a little resiny note. Light notes of alcohol and vanilla. Flavor is still quite hoppy though, with a resiny bitterness first off. A little oxidation creeping in turning the caramel and toffee into more of a madiera tinged fruitcake. Noticable alcohol on the finish. Mouthfeel is still full and just a little sticky on the warming finish. Very soft light carbonation yields a creamy texture as it rolls around. A pretty good Barley Wine, will hold up for a couple more years most likely.

Bottles from Goldtwins and TBC. Muddy orange with very minimal tan head, fades to ring of bubbles rather quickly. Aroma chock full of caramel, toffee, mollasses. Faint fruity yeast esters, mostly banana. Very yeasty breadlike character going on as well. Flavor again full of caramel and toffee, faint citrus through the middle and a slight oxidation character detectable in the finish. Slight warming alcohol as well. Well done.

2004 bomber from The_Epeeist. Labeled with a piece of masking tape, I don’t know if this was hand-bottled or just totally budget, but it certainly seems legit. Aroma is that typical old barleywine thing; bitter notes of lost hops, smooth raisiny sweetness, sherry and oxidation. Pretty much no head. Taste is very sweet, kind of one-dimensional. Spiciness in the finish. Thin body. Surprisingly drinkable. Pretty good.

Bomber, with an enormous THANKS to boboski for this most excellent BONUS! Pours a nice looking cloudy amber with ruby highlights and a sizable persistent dark white head, some lacing. Strong and diverse malty aroma of pear, plum, honey, cherry, and a seemingly neverending array of dark fruits. Flavor is fairly bready, with a good malt presence, mild hoppiness, and enough sweetness to be "just right" without going overboard; alcohol is somewhat noticable but bearable. Overall, this is a nice barleywine, albeit a bit rough around the edges. Thanks again, Jason, for the chance to try this special rarity!

NorCal tasting June ’07 - It had been awhile since I had a barleywine of this caliber, so this was a real treat. An excellent aroma of caramel, cedar, vanilla, bourbon, and apples. Appearance was like melted caramel with a small off-white head. Mouthfeel was sticky, chewey and oh so nice. Flavor was just a complex blast of flavors to rush from your tongue to your brain. Caramel, apples, brown sugar, light oxidation, vanilla, and creme brullee, which mingles all together incredibly well. Easily one of my favorite b-wines ever. Outstanding.

Bottle courtesy of hopdog. Murky orange-amber pour. Small spotty white head. Aroma is delicious! sweet malts, soft hops, ripe fruits, caramel, citrus oils and light alcohol. Taste is equally delicious. Sticky sugars, sweet malts, caramel, touches of syrup, piney hops, citrus oils, and light alcohol. Body is light-medium and seems a bit thin for a barley wine. Soft but dense carbonation. Very sticky. Little alcohol warmth. Ends with more caramel, sweet malts, light hops, citrus fruits and sugary notes. Not sure how old this bottle is but it’s held up well!