Drakes Barley Wine Brandy Barrel

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

Bottle:   Deep brown, quite murky, deep caramel hues, soapy beige head, very little lacing.   Certainly looks aged.   Woody nose, very minor Brandy like presense.   Very soft band-aid and butterscotch, in addition to some dark pitted fruit.   Might be a little bit over the hill.   Sweet and tangy on the tongue, some wood character, almost nil on the Brandy front.   If this is 14.7% I would have never have guessed it.   Has a sweet prune/raisiny backside.   This is fairly tasty, smooth on the finish.   Moderate sweetness from start to finish.   Lingering figs and dates.   Good, hides ABV well, but not as complex as I would have thought.   Probably was fantastic a year or two ago.   Still tasty tho.   Thanks to Styles for this rarity!

2100 rating with a bottle thanks to Ratman197! Pours with a hazy deep brown body and a ring of tan froth. Aroma of brandy, wood, chocolate, grapes, currants, toffee, yeast, madeira. Very complex. Taste is sweet with light oxidation at the mid point, explosive fruit and dark fruit, cherry, brandy barrel finish. All the complex fruity and burnt toffee flavors I associate with a good brandy. Rich and deep with raisin and sherry notes. Slight tang at the finish. Syrupy mouthfeel with light carbonation. Alcohol is well hidden till about 15 minutes after you have had it. Very nice.

bottle from ratman197. This was my favorite of the 4 that I was lucky enough to try. Pours a cloudy dark brown color and no real head. Aroma is full of fruity and old wood notes, brandy, and some red wine notes. Flavor is really nice. The oxidation plays well into the sweet/tart taste. Booze, tart cherries, caramel, toffee, wood, and some chalky red wine notes. damn this is a nice little sipper.

Bottle 18cl. @ home.
[ Trade by Papsoe ]. Clear medium to dark brown color with virtually none head. Aroma is heavy malty, roasted, caramel, dark berry, raisin, prune, cask wood - whsiky, alcohol. Flavor is heavy sweet and moderate to light heavy bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily - syrupy, carbonation is flat, finish feel is moderate alcoholic. [20081117]

6oz nip bottle. Lots of oxidization on the nose. Really not than unpleasant, though. Dark fruits. Wet oak. Lots of barrel presence. Vanilla extract. Thick, chewy malt. Sweeter candies... toffee and caramel (obviously). Reduced port wine. Raisny-amarone like wine aromas. Alcohol is present but doesn’t show it’s strength. Pours a gorgeous, still, oily dark brown. Completely opaque. No head and no carbonation. Looks beautiful. Flavor has as much oxidization as the nose. Rather delicious though. Just the smallest hint of cardboard. Loads of dark, concentrated fruit. Lots of wood tannin. I can’t say brandy, per se... but a definite barrel presence is there. Nutty sherry, dark fruits, alcohol, caramel, toffee... it’s all there for a barley wine. Getting on in age though. Slick on the tongue. Minimal carbonation with a tasty, toasty and caramel malt finish. Very nice. Showing its age, but quite delicious. Thanks a ton Eugene for the rare treat!

Courtesy of Fonefan. It’s dark red mahogany and the aroma has notes of oak, roasted malt, dark fruits like raisin and figs, caramel, alcohol, and the mouthfeel is full. The flavour has sweetness and notes of raisin, roasted malt, oak, caramel, plum, sherry and the balance is very nice in this full-bodied and impressive beer – nice indeed!

Bottle shared with Hogtown Harry and Blankboy, courtesy of Harry. Great aroma - brown sugar, molasses, alcohol. Dark brown, no head. Nice taste - dark fruit, toffee, aclohol - like a smoothed out fruitier Thomas Hardy’s. Good stuff

old lil nip I believe this came from Tever. Poured into a snifter. Pours dark dark brownish-red with a ring of a tan head. Nose is nice with a touch of brandy, but everything else seems to have faded a bit with time. A touch of caramel toffee etc.. No touch of alc in the onse here. Taste is sweet and malty with a light bit of brandy and dark deep fruits. This is incredibly smooth it has aged very well, I can’t tell that this beer is nearly 15% abv. Overall this is a tasty beer, and one I doubt I’ll ever have again.