Dominion Millennium

12oz bottle, dated Feb 2004.
Pours a mahogany with little head or carbonation -- acceptable for a barleywine. Aroma is of rich grain, wine, cherry, and fairly bitter tobacco-like hops. Flavor is vinous and fruity up front, with a dry bitter hoppiness following. Tobacco leaf shows up next. The sweet/bitter balance leans a little to the bitter for my tastes but it’s fundamentally balanced. My larger complaint with the flavor is its lack of intensity. A good barleywine bursts with flavor. This one just kind of sits there as you sip. Thick, flat, oily palate. Not bad at all but I wish it had more flavor.

Pours a dull hazy brown, with a quarter inch of white foam. This reduces to a ring in a few moments. The aroma is of toffee and brown sugar, with a hint of over-ripe pineapple. Lots of toffee, caramel, and honey malt goodness. Very good hop balance with lots of resiny, almost oily, piney hops. A hint of orange peel and spicy hops in the finish, with a strong alcohol presence in the aftertaste. Full bodied, and the malt just clings to the roof of my mouth.

12 oz bottle acquired in a trade with Immy - thanks, dude! Bottled Feb ’06. Gorgeous amber body with thin lacing, almost opaque. The aroma hits you with a powerful nuttiness - definitely not an American hoppywine here. As it warms up, the richness of character emerges - wood, plums for sure, and a slight alcohol burn. It’s that last bit which makes me think that I should have kept this cellared for another 6-12 months, allowing the brew’s balance to emerge. Still, really fine stuff. Wish I had some more.

Draft at the DC Brewpub. Rather strong yet tastly barleywine.Nice dark color. Aroma provided a good warning of what to expect. Strong flavor and a hop character almost made me wince. Much better by the 3rd sip. Was rather tastly though. I considerred getting a "tower" of this, but wasn’t ready to walk home

1.16.07 Split bottle with AdamSkillin. Jan 03 vintage. At 4 years old this barleywine is everything a bw should be: rich in taste with a enough alcohol for relaxation. Get this, it’s fantastic.

Pours the color of cherry wood with a thin ivory head. Smells of molasses, dark fruit, vanilla and oak. Tastes of alcohol up front but not too hot. Caramel flavors, hints of vanilla, plum and other dark fruit. Some significant hops in the finish but the malt shines in this beer. Mouth is rich and full. Finish is an warming alcohol burn. A good candidate for aging but pretty good now. Good winter seasonal.

Bottled Jan 27, 2003, Drank Jan 16, 2007. Roger Freiday gave me this many months ago, and I have to say, this is a fantastic flavorful but smooth (probably due to the age) 11.4% beer. I could drink this all day, although I’d probably regret it in the morning. Great with honey in case you’re wondering.

Bottle from trade with kmweaver. Thanks Ken! Pours a dark copper color with a frothy medium size head. Aroma of bourbon, oak, malt and caramel. Taste is initially sweet with a hint of vanilla and bourbon and malt. Has a bit of a hoppy finish with a small alcohol burn. Very nice!