Fish Tale Leviathan Barleywine (Batch 5+)

Brewed by Fish Brewing Company/Leavenworth Beers
Style: Barley Wine
Olympia, Washington USA

Bottle poured a hazy orange with a small lasting amber head. Aromas of carmel, vanilla, fruit, and some vinous notes. Palate was medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of carmel, orange zest, a bit of vanilla, some woody notes and a hint of sherry with a sweet lingering and warming finish. A very complex and tasty barleywine, well worth trying!

Bottle. Hazy orange coloured with an off white head. Sweet aroma of malts, caramel and dried fruits. Flavour of malts, caramel and dried fruits.

Bottle, batch 5. Pours red-orange with fading white head. The aroma is malty with lots of bread, hints of caramel and chocolate, a little bit of lemongrass, and some spice. The flavor is orange zest and some fruity sweetness. Burned biscuits come forward shortly thereafter. The finish is weak and dusty and leaves a warm aftertaste. Effervescent mouthfeel. It’s good, but not as deep as I would expect from a good barleywine.

One of the better barleywines you can find, that’s for sure. Man, this was good and it just kept getting better. Aroma was vanilla, woody, caramel and dark fruits. Appearance was a murky swampy looking browninsh color, but it was great to behold. Flavors were just in-freakin’-credible with oak, earthyness, wood, vanilla, raisins, plums, figs, maple, and hops abound. One of the great beers I’ve had recently where it’s fairly easy to pick up distinct flavor profiles with each sip. Damn near perfect.

(Bottle 35,5 cl) Pours a slightly hazy amber golden with a small, off-white head. Fat aroma of caramel and aroma hops. Very full-bodied with rich, fat flavours of caramel. Some hops in the finish but not really enough to balance the sweetness. 160806

Bottle. Dark amber colour with a medium beige head. Caramel malty, dark fruitMedium body with a dry light alcoholic finish.s, hop aroma and taste, light alcoholic finish.

Sampled from bottle. Pours copper-orange with a very faint haze. Its off-white head is thin, but lasting. Aroma is mostly rich, caramelized malts with dark fruit notes. The flavor is wonderful: very bready and balanced with some spicy hops. Also has dark, ripe fruits up front and a bit of cocoa in the finish. Full-bodied with moderate to light carbonation. Very drinkable with a distinguished flavor.

Batch 5 12 oz bottle. Pours that classic reddish copper with a bigger than average (for style) head, quickly settling down to a thin white film. The nose is classic barleywine. Lightly sweet malt, a touch of alcohol, boot leather, dark fruit, lightly floral hops, and a not so out of place hint of smoke. Even a hint of chocolate. The palate is nice and smooth as well, with low carbonation, a bit of viscosity, and somewhat slippery. The flavor really has a complexity that I’ve found to be lacking in even my favorite barleywines. This is also at the opposite end of the spectrum from cloying. Light sweet malt is overcome by smoke, tannins, and alcohol (which isn’t overpowering). There’s something very reminiscent of a dry red wine. Oaky earthy unsweetened chocolate flavors also come in, with a nice floral bitterness blending into alcohol and tannin mouth astringency. The inside of my mouth became all rough with each sip. This is perhaps the most drinkable barleywine I’ve had in terms of being able to drink quantity. Unfortunately, I only brought one bottle back from Seattle, which I was obliged to share!