Berkshire Holidale

Brewed by Berkshire Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
South Deerfield, Massachusetts USA

Rich fruity aroma with influences of figs, caramel, cereal and rye. Dark copper pour, filmy head and full lacing. Medium bodied, drinkable and enjoyable. Toasty, roasted malts o’ plenty with sweetened cereal and dark fruit flavors.

Bottle:   Deep amber, nearly brown, large light beige foamy head, decent lacing.   Faint citrus rind, caramel, biscuit, and nuts on the nose.   Has a spiciness to it on the tongue.   Tangy citrus zest comes and goes quickly.   Decent malt base, slight sweetness.   Very little hop bitterness.   Moderate body. Had it been maltier it would have felt a bit thicker.   Warming but not alcoholic.   Lingering spiciness.   This one was a nice change from the overly hopped examples.

Poured from a 22oz. bottle into a stemmed glass. The color is a somewhat cloudy reddish/maroon with three fingers of off white head with a bit of lacing left on the glass. The smell is a very sweet with some spicy hints of clove and some rye. The taste is mild with some nice rye flavor and a nice floral hoppiness. Some nice dark fruit flavor and is bit of a creaminess that is slight but present. The feel is light with a bit of age on it. The burn has calmed and is now a bit warming and ticklish. Has a medium body but is easy to handle.

2008 Vintage on tap. Hazy dark golden body with thin whispy white head. Nose of candy (like candy canes, but not the peppermint kind), some butterscotch, toffee and apple juice. Pallate was really nice and mellow. Active carbonation and just a slight hint of alcohol warmth buried behind some heavy sugars and light malts. Flavors of caramel, toffee, meaty blood orange, sweet cherries and guava. Maybe even some honey and dry grain. There was certainly a lot going on, maybe too much, but the mild pallate really put up a drinkable 9.5%

2006 bomber. Poured coppery-amber with a short cap of beige head. The aroma picked up sweet caramel, toffee, and redder fruity sweetness laced with peppery alcohol.. warmth brought out a whole bunch of honey that I really dug.. a tad brighter than I’d like, but otherwise very good. The flavor opened with tangy, warm citrus notes backed by mead-like honey from the nose and semi-dry caramel.. some fruity and floral character toward the back.. sharp and a little bit sour in places.. finished with the tasty malts. Medium bodied and warm on the palate with light carbonation.. nice slow feel from the thick malts.. dry, grainy, residual sugars and a hit of tangy citrus at the end. This wasn’t great, but I’d have another.

The appearance is cloudy deep red. Some debris floating. Head disappears quickly. Cherry red. The smell isn’t very strong, so there’s not much to say about it except some grainy barley malt. The taste is gritty, almost musty malt, but not skunky. It’s funky and appropriate. A really nice hop accent. Slight sourness and leather. Raisin and sweet cherry comes out too. Some sweet honey too. It’s thick and chewy, but smooth, buttery and oily too. It’s a thick and rich beer. A smooth barleywine.

Bottle. Caramel color. Light rimmed head. Chocolate, banana, malty. roasted notes. Smooth and sweet; not bitter or tart as I would have expected. A little watery and thin in body. Left a green tea residual on its way down. ok.

Clearish amber color with a medium tan head. Aroma of malt, grain, candi sugar and fruit. Strawberry flavor with lots of sugar and some cream. Didn’t get any hop character, which left this one way too sweet.