Elysian Cyclops Barleywine

Brewed by Elysian Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Seattle, Washington USA

Courtesy of OldMrCrow. 04 vintage. Pours a cloudy brown with no head. Tastes of nuts, caramel, rich malt, and roasted barley. Finishes with a creamy nutty taste. Palate was extra smooth, with a thick malty feeling.

Bottle... Murky golden ale with a small, creamy, white head. The roasted, woodsy aroma is of praline, maple syrup and oak. Full-bodied with a sticky mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. Toasty, boozy and sweet with earthy hop bitterness. Caramel finish. Bottle courtesy of mgumby10!

2004 vintage courtesy of Old Mr Crow. Pours heavily turbid ruddy muddy clay tennis court color with 1-finger off-white head. Aroma is fruit, berries, peppery spicy notes, earthy peaty notes, and hops. The flavor is very malty and fruity, not sweet, with a defined black peppery and hoppy note, plus a mid-palate port winey flavor, and a lot of liquid caramel flavor. Very rich, complex palate that gets a bit creamy toward the finish and has a nice balance. This one was outstanding.

Courtesy Old_Mr_Crow. Pours a cloudy dark orange, with a medium off white head. Smells of very bready yeast, biscuits, caramel malts, and dark fruits. Smells like a typical barley wine. The flavor is pretty dry, alot of that caramel maltiness and breadyness take over for the most part. Some dried fruits come in in the background. A little sweet molasses and rasisn notes are noticeable in the finish. Nice barley wine, very typical for the style. Standard.

Clear amber with a small beige head. Sweet malty nose with lots of toffee/caramel, golden raisins and pine. The flavor is moderately sweet, moderately bitter with resinous pine, toffee and cookie dough. Full body is soft, but a touch thin with light carbonation and a bit of astringency at the end.

Sample @ Coles 3rd Annual Barleywine Competition. Light to medium amber color. Sharp sweetness sort of numbs tip of your tongue. aromas of butterscotch, caramel, sugar. nice beer

’05 cask at Hard Liver 2006. Murky amber with an off white head. Big malty pit fruit and alcohol nose. Heavy body with a very smooth mouthfeel. Mellow flavors of lightly sweet malts, spicy yeasts. Good cask version here, much different character than the bottled version.

2005 bottle sampled January ’08.

Pours caramel gold with a modest head. Pretty heavy oxidized-hop nose, with some caramel and butterscotch, alcohol. The flavor pretty much follows. Again those oxidized hops, caramel, confectionary sugar--this is really quite a sweet barleywine. Reasonably nice, but quite hot on the finish. The tiny-bubble carbonation gives it a very mild, creamy, but never flat mouthfeel that does deserve mention. Better than some of the local disasters I’ve tried, but not an absolute standout. Rumor has it that Bottleworks just put some more ’05 on the shelf; I’m in no hurry to grab it.