Drakes Barley Wine Brandy Barrel

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

How can words describe this? Let me try. Huge aroma of brandy and vanilla with hints of oak, sweet malt and some toffee. A soft mouthfeel gives way to a depth that is wonderfully intriguing and incredibly satisfying. The finish is warming, full and leaving you wanting more. An incredibly high ABV but you wouldn’t know it’s there. It’s hidden somewhere! Thanks to aspidites for this one. Excellent, excellent beer.

Lucky enough to have sampled this from the actual brandy barrel while it matured, this is truly a wonderful beer. Get one, pour it in a glass, and drink it. Don’t let me tell you about the huge and complex aromas or the hazy, ruddy appearance, the flavor profile that defies description or the huge palate. Just pour, let it warm a bit as you sip, and enjoy.

I’ve been warned: this is supposedly a fantastic beer...let’s see here... Strong alcohol in the nose, with figs, dates, raisins prunes and highly spiced. It smells HEAVY. Wow, this is a great beer! Very "brandy"-flavored, woody and oak...nice, sharp finish - hoppy, but nicely balanced. Not syrupy sweet, and that alcohol is well-hidden. Like a chocolate-covered fig with a nice warming appeal. I like it.

Poured a murky brown color with a small light tan that left no lacing on the glass. Aroma of whisky, nuts, caramel malts, dried fruits, and smoke. Taste of more caramel malts, some toffee, dried fruits, a good amount of smoke, and alcohol in the finish.

Big thanks to DaveCooks for this one. The pour, into my Stone RIS snifter, was deep brown and ruddy, with little head. The aroma was huge, providing notes of huge figs, oaky bourbon, port, dark fruit. The aroma was similar to Thomas Hardy and Samichlaus, although a bit hotter and more volatile. The palate was medium density, with flavors of malty brown sugar, figs, cherries, oaky borubon and port, molasses, and almonds. Is this worthy of top 50 status? I say it is. Thanks again, Dave.

Thanks to Dark Elf for this. 6 oz bottle served at 55 degrees in a brandy snifter. Pours a brownish red with a thin ring of tan bubbles dotting the rim of the snifter. Smells of brandy, molasses, figs, vanilla, oaky wood, citrus, caramel, toffee and underlying butteriness. Taste is of tarte cherries, sour, brandy, wood, caramel, warming mellow alcohol, which is surprising for a beer this high in alcohol, some citrus and peaches, orange peel, and sherry. Palate is full and oily. The alcohol is well masked on this one.

187 mL bottle via IrishBoy. The beer pours to a very dark murky brown mahogany body with a thin off-white/tan head. The aroma is very unique. It starts off with toasty barley, migrates towards a deep sweet sugary malted raisin and brandy, and finishes with some caramel doused pecans. The flavor is very toasty malted barley, chocolate, sherry, brandy, caramel pecans, cherries on the finish. It’s like this is made by the careful hands of J.W. Lee’s. Quite delicious and I suspect tons of Maris Otter was used in this. Every attention to perfection. The palate is warming but surprisingly not over-powering in alcohol. Very well blended. Rich malty feel. Good thing I traded for multiple bottles.

Big thanks to Hopdog for sharing this gem. Small 6 oz bottle 2003 I think. Pours a cloudy murky brown with almost no head, but decent carbonation. I didnt really notice any peanut butter, but I initially got a ton of sweet brandy, bourbon/sherry mixture, slightly wine-like, lots of molasses and toffee. Very malty and thick flavor. Sweet, fruity, dates, figs, prunes, more brandy, not hot at all. Abv hidden very well. Very very smooth and easy to drink. Excellent!