Flat Earth Winter Warlock

Brewed by Flat Earth Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
St. Paul, Minnesota USA

Bottle. Body-medium honey, thick ring of bubbles. Taste-high CO2, medium alcohol, light berry, clean, good use of hops, kind of sweet on the back end.

Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Very light gold pour with a ring of white froth. Nose of sweet malts and light fruit. not bad on the palate with a light fruit flavor and a smooth finish.

Sampled at the Hopsnobbery Collective barley wine tasting on 3.14.09. Cloudy copper/amber in color with a thin off-white head. Grainy corn aroma with caramel and sugar. Sugary flavor with a fair amount of booze and a somewhat hoppy finish that makes it seem more like an English bitter.

Sample at the Hopsnobbery Collective Barley Wine tasting on 03/14/2009: The beer is a lightly hazed orange color with a thin and somewhat fizzy light beige head that recedes quickly. Spotty lacing. Aroma of pale malt, caramel and light hops. Medium body with earthy malt and caramel flavors plus some lightly bitter hops and fruit. The finish is malty with a sweet caramel and fruit aftertaste. Did not resemble a Barley Wine from the first pour, and I cannot take credit for the comment but someone said it was closer to an ESB which I think is a fair assessment. Slightly above average overall.

Bottle and served in my big ole Karmeliet tulip: Coppery hue with a small head but lasting foam that leaves spotty lacework upon the glassware. The nose detects very grassy and slight resiny hops, caramel and bready malts, pepper and juniper, hint of sweet wood, and some mineral water. The taste is rather straight forward blend of sweet malt and moderate hop bitterness finished off with a slight kick of spicy twang and fruit. That said it is tasty enough and I had no problem finishing the bottle in no time. Bonus for drinkability, not cloy nor boozy. Easily the best brew I have had from these Rush loving brewers... too bad I could not get the special porters.

Thanks to Bob for the 2007 bomber! Poured medium golden with a short cap of white head. The aroma picked up sweet grassy notes, English toffee, and a lesser dose of lighter-skinned fruits.. smelled slightly warm, but the large dose of sweetness held it in check. The flavor was sweet and sticky with pale malts and lighter toffee at the core.. alcohol built as it warmed up, and carried through to the belly.. bitterness was mild and grassy at the edges.. lots of not-too-interesting pale malts at the end. Medium-bodied on the palate with decent balance.. drinkable without serious flaws, but kind of boring.

<i>Tasting at Papsoe</i>
Hazy deep blond color. Light aroma, strong body, with sweetish malt, but nothing else. The alcohol is warming. Pleasant because of the sweetness, but nothing special.

On tap tonight, winter sampling at Acadia. Golden brown pour with a nice quarter inch head. Smell was hoppy, which was a little surprising for a barleywine. Tast was good, very herbal with noticable juniper and aftertaste of alcohol. Not the best barleywine, but worth finding on tap. I have a feeling this one will grow on me.