Drakes Brewers Droop Barleywine

Draft. Rich hazy bronze beer with an off-white head. Rich caramel aroma. Summer fruit, light pine/grapefruit flavor with lots of rich caramel. Fuller bodied. Decent bitterness. Caramel lingers with grapefruit and pine. Very nice.

On tap @ Toronado San Diego. Pours a very deep brown with a thin beige ring. Aromas of sweet malts, candied fruits, toffee and a nice punch of hops. Flavor was quite sweet with figs, plums, toffee and sweet malts. Finish had nice hop bitterness with a sweet malty backbone. A very full bodied brew.

Sampled at Toronado 2009 Barleywine Festival. Pours clear amber with off white head. The aroma consists of dark fruit from figs dates mixing with sweet lightly roasty malt creating a bit of dryness. I also get a little bit of chemical alcohol on a big draw that isn’t distracting. The taste begins with dark fruit coming from figs, prunes, dates and maybe a little bit of red vine licorice. It then leans toward malty sweetness toward midway joining what seems like a note of wood. It comes across as a well balance beer aided by mild malt astringency into the finish.

On tap at Toronado for Barleywine fest ’09. Pretty solid. Copper color with an off-white head. Aroma of dark fruits, sweet malt, and oak. Flavor is sweet and malty and a little woody with port-like notes and a little hop bitterness. Smooth, fairly full mouthfeel.

Tap at Barclays. Apparently Drake’s newest barleywine. Pours with a fairly dark copper color. Aromas of wood, leather and candied apple. Has some brandy components in the flavor profile, along with some wood, caramel and a nice hop backbone. Very complex and very smooth. Great stuff.