Dominion Millennium

2006 bottle purchased from the brewpub. 11.4% alcohol is quite suprising. A little sweet and cloying. Very malty. Finish is too dry. I think this will improve w/ age.

Bottle from Santa. Luxurious warm carmelly, bitter butter aroma. Enveloping and smooth like melted chocolate, though restrained and still delicate. A pleasing bitterness is the first thing noticed in the mouth, followed by the same buttery softness evident in the aroma. Not very complex at all, but still a great drink. 11.4% alcohol (2006 bottle) is extremely well hidden. Great beer from Santa. Oak aged is next!

2006: Pour is slightly hazed amber with a nice dense tan head...smell is sweet sweet molasses, vanilla, caramel...no alcohol...taste is sweet with lots of earth fruits and thick chewy syrupy caramel...mouth feel seems a little thin and slick...good though...

Bottled 2/16/06, so not aged at all. Pours a ruddy dark amber-orange color. Produces a 1/2" thick, dense light tan head which slowly fades to a spotty thin coating. Decent lacing as snifter drains. Aromas seem a bit tame for a BW this big and the alcohol tends to dominate a little too much. However, pleasant notes of dark rum soaked fruits, caramel, brown sugar, plum, port wine and a touch of spice from the hops are noted. Mouthfeel is slick, full and oily with a very subtle carbonation. Taste profile begins with a big, sweet malt blast; lots of roasted malt, raisin, honey, brandy and a touch of molasses. This quickly slides into a crisp moderate spicy/floral hop finish with a slight bitterness. A restrained alcohol presence in the end, but well hidden for such a strong BW. Worth a try, but not a classic.

12 oz bottle thanks to gputty. Bottled 2/16/06, so rather fresh. Also, 11.4%. Poured into a Tripel Karmeliet large tulip glass. Pours with a rather large head expecially for a BW. Color is dark amber with reddish and orangish hues. Head turns into a strong lacing covering the entire surface. Aroma is strong - not balanced for me though, dominated by a weird mix of hops and malt. Strong piney hop aroma overtakes a rather weak english BW malt of brown sugar and bread. I do not get any of the plum/raison alcohol aroma I am used to. The taste is weak, yes weak for anything this strong. Very watery and thin on flavor. Still get the pine, peppery at the end. Not malt driven (only felt slight brown sugar/butterscotch in the aftetaste). Medium body but kind of light for a BW. Surprisingly no burn on the throat. I should be getting a few more to age from Immy, but it may be in vain.

Great!!!! Thanks Jsquire. I like "Sherry of the Beer world" (recently getting hook on sherry thanks to treks to Ark via the Barrel Factory of Missouri and aged casks and the company of an aged archeologist). The sweet hoopiness balanced with the high alcohol content and estry fruit with honey overtones makes for true nectur.

Sampled this at the Old Dominion brewpub. Very nice if you’re into barleywines- but if heavy beers aren’t your thing, this one isn’t for you. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen it anywhere in Philly. Hopefully they’ll get around to shipping it up here sometime soon. A very heavy taste, with lots of alcohol. Recommended if you can find it.

Bottle. The abv on this one is 11.4%. Bottling date: 04/03/06. A cloudy amber/rust pour with a small tan head. Lots of plums in the aroma along with some vanilla extract, caramel and a little grapefruit. A tad thin for a barley wine along with an above-average level of carbonation. Caramel and spices upfront. Finishes quite dry and biscuity with plenty of bitterness. More of a dark fruit/brown sugar/syrupy barley wine than of the hoppy/citrusy variety. Ample alcohol warmth throughout. The oak barrel version is much better.