Drakes Barley Wine Brandy Barrel

Formerly brewed at Drakes Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
San Leandro, California USA

6oz olive bottle. Poured translucent, copper-accented dark brown with no head or other sign of carbonation. The aroma was rich and seductive, exhibiting rich vinous and plummy notes, brandy, cane sugar, and warm herbal accents.. charred oak gives a subtle and entirely complimentary impression.. just the slightest prickly impression on the nose hairs (the alcohol was expertly masked). The flavor was right on par with the nose.. rich vinous and brandy notes, aged toffee, and faint dry baker’s chocolate form the base with layers of herbal notes, oak, and vanilla above.. finished with dry sherry and a bit of oak tartness. heavier-bodied with zero carbonation on the palate.. if anything a touch too sweet, but the components were spot on and the huge alcohol was successfully hidden.. dry, lengthy, memorable finish. This was something special!

’05 bottle from droopy49. dark dirty orange, with minimal head. Aroma is very hot, almost like sniffing horseraddish. flavor has decent caramel/toffee character, as it warms some strange fruit esters show up, almost vegetal/meaty. Don’t know what to think of this beer or at least this bottle.

Big thanks to Cap’t Cougar for this mighty small bottle. This was going to be #900, but it hopped out of the fridge, bounced off the tile floor, and started leaking out of the cap, so I figured no better time like the present to open it. I let it sit out for 10-12 minutes, so it has warmed up some. Served in a snifter. The aroma is huge malt, caramel, toffee, cookie dough, light wood, dark fruits, dark sugar and some floral hops. All in all, a nice smelling barleywine. Color is dark red, nearly brown with a smallish, short lasting off-white head. No floaties. Initial taste is sweet malt, dark fruits, dark brown sugar, and light alcohol followed by tannic wood, toffee, dark caramel, and some sweet, mildly oxidized malt in the finish. The alcohol level is not apparent, but the beer is only about 54°. Mouthfeel is thick. Good stuff, though I would be hard pressed to compare it to the very best barleywines, though I do enjoy what the Brandy barrel offers.

A huge thanks to Sliffy for this treat! Pours a muddled dark hue with zero head and hardly any carbonation present. Wonderful aromas of the barrel with faint whisps of the hops that were once present a few years ago. Very slight oxidation here, but lends a nice light sherry tone to the tasting. Sliffy and I must have cellared this perfectly as I’m not getting any of the other flaws that others are detecting. Lucky me I guess? Wonderfully mellowed, but potent flavours of candied cherries, plum and a bit of spicey nutmeg. Pefectly balanced by the oak with a light vanilla character. The brandy and overall alcohol have no doubt mellowed considerably over time to blend beautifully with the tapistry of flavours present. A great experience for me and, I’m guessing, one of the lucky ones to have had this bottle hold up so wonderfully for so long.

Sampled at cquiroga’s 3rd Annual Woodshop Tasting on 3/1/08 alongside many, many other fantastic beers. Listed on the tasting list as 2005 vintage. Deep amber color that pours still. Appetizing aroma of sweet nutmeg, oak wood and cinnamon. Mellowed brandy notes, raisin and caramel comprise the flavor. Soft mouth-feel with a warming alcohol finish. Great stuff.

Lots of thanks to Marcus for this little gem. 6oz. bottle. Poured into a hock glass. There’s a very strong aroma. Oak. Dark caramel. Prunes. Almost medicinal. Dark ruby toned color with no head. Full bodied with virtually no carbonation. Flavor is wood, dark fruit, tannin, brandy. Sort of coats the tongue. Heat is not an issue. Finish is dry, but not really bitter. Just a little chalky. Definitely vinous.

I’ve wanted to try this retired gem for a long time; drewbeerme hooked me up with a bottle. Thanks!!!

Pours a dark murky brown with basically no head. Nose of raisins, sherry, oxidized hops; chocolate caramel and honey and plum jam; in some ways it recalls (but doesn’t really match) certain aspects of the nose on the ’04 Kuhnhenn’s Raspberry Eisbock. Flavor is gently sour like many older English barleywines, mouth-drying oak, sweet caramel, sherry, recalling but exceeding the Drakes Jolly Rodger BA Scotch Ale I had about a year ago. Smooth mouthfeel with little carbonation is perfectly well suited to the general character of the beer. No hint of the 15% alcohol; I would have called it 10% and wondered how they hid the burn so well!

Deeply enjoyable. A very nice beer!

Pours out dark brown with a tiny lacing head. Aroma is huge and of oak, brandy and sweet fruit/malts. Taste is complex with a syrupy mouthfeel, oak, strong alcohol, sweet fruits and slight vinous notes. Not bad, but should have drank this sooner.