Elysian Cyclops Barleywine

Bottle from Malt & Vine. Likely quite fresh. Pours a ruddy copper with a slight off-white head. Aroma is quite malty/syrupy with just a touch of piney hop. Full bodied with mild carbonation. Flavor is pine over sweet caramel, along with lighter stone fruit. Nice. Finiishes more sweet than bitter. It has a very nice aftertaste.

Draft. Pours an amber copper body with an off white head. Salty malt character and caramel notes. Big etoh burn with some rotting fruit character and some salty apples. Eh.

Earthy, strong sweet caramel flavors. Apricot like fruit flavors also are present, with some bittering hops. The flavor is a lot more cloyingly sweet than I like, but there’s nothing terrible about it. I might have to give it another go later.

Bottle that I’ve been holding onto for a while. Smells of caramel, dark fruit, molasses, maple syrup, resiny. Tastes bitter and earthy with a dark fruity finish.

Slightly hazy copper and amber coloured body with a thinnish tan head. Aroma of caramel, toffee, raisins, fresh fruit, light malt and a bunch of alcohol - pretty nice! Full-bodied; Strong assertive hops up front then showing apricots, fruit and a bit of alcohol - all with some malt and toffee finishes. Aftertaste has a good balance - a lot of hops for the style and some good sweetness. Overall, a fairly nice and hoppy barley wine that shows off very well. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased at Bottleworks in Seattle, Washington on 25-April-2009, sampled on 09-July-2009 at home in the real Washington [dc].

Bottle from Secret Santa. Thanks, St. Nick! Pours a decent but not-quite-thick-enough-for-my-taste amber, with a quickly descending head of white. Aroma is a strong rush of bready raisin topped with a creme of malted raspberries and subtle peach. Flavor is a bit subdued, considering the ABV and the rather intense nose. Notes of passive plumb and raisin bread, with a quick flash of Isopryl alcohol round out the flavors. Decent mouthfeel. Not a bad barleywine, just wish it were a tad more dominant on my taste buds.

Bottle shared by wagenvolks. Thanks! Pours copper with short lived head. Smell is hoppy and tea like and crystal malt. Taste is the same. Solid bitterness and hop presence with strong iced tea flavor. Pretty solid, but nothing amazing.

Nicely hopped barleywine, 2007 edition The aroma is rich malts and barley, the appearance is a golden-brown with some white halo head, and spider lacing follows. The hops were magnum, amarillo, and centennial. Ageing lead to a nice mouthfeel, most drinkable, with a citrus undercurrent and finish.Overall, bitterness.