Flying Dog Horn Dog Barley Wine

Brewed by Flying Dog Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Frederick, Maryland USA

Cloudy, orange-brown color. Good start to the head; settles to a thin layer of bubbles that leaves some generous ring lace. Strong sweet malty aroma with lots of alcohol warmth to the nose. True to the Barley Wine expectations. First impression is of the higher than typical hop bite on the initial taste. The overall flavor is somewhat sweet with a high level of alcohol. The post swallow taste is sweet and warming. Well-balanced for a Barley Wine. This is a rich beer that has enough carbonation to prevent it from tasting similarly to a port.

Was looking for a balance of malt and hops and got all malts. Full flavored but the sweetness was too much. Only drank 2/3’s of the 12oz bottle.

7 ounce bottle from Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, VA. Pours a clear copper color with a medium creamy tan head. Good head retention and lacing. Malty aroma of caramel, toffee and floral hops. Taste is bitter leafy, citrus hops along with caramel, toffee, raisin and alcohol. Medium bodied.

12 ounce bottle, vintage 08CC. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours a cloudy brown/orange color with a very small off-white head. The aroma is sweet and boozy (but also a bit weak), it smells like caramel, toffee, brown sugar, figs and booze. It tastes like caramel, sweet malt, figs, booze and some hops. Alcohol heat is noticable in the taste. The beer also has a bitter finish, I was expecting it to be sweeter. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it’s a bit syrupy and has moderate carbonation. Drinkability is OK, it’s not hard to drink at all. I think this is a decent enough beer, but I wouldn’t drink this very often.

Not overly impressed with this one. As with many Flying Dog offerings the alcohol plays a key roll: too much here without the body to offset it.

Bottle. Pours a syrupy brown with a lasting beige head. Aroma is full of malt notes leading to a grainy and alcohol combination. Flavor has a strong sweet malty flavor with a small alcohol bite towards the finish.

Bottle 355ml. Poured hazy dark burnt bronze with a small, frothy, tanned head which was fully diminishing. A complex and rich aroma with fruitcake dunked in brandy, caramelized dates, figs, sultana’s, dried apricots, dark chocolate and allspice. Flavor was quite smooth with a mild bitterness, sticky toffee malts, dried mixed fruits, dark chocolate, caramelized dates, currents, muscatels, pepper, allspice and light notes of powdered ginger. Noticeable alcohol content. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation, a syrupy texture and a great length finish.

Smells like a common barley wine - malty, sweet, and strong. It has a dark ruby brown appearance with almost no head at all. It tastes slightly sweet, boozy, and the normal flavor you get in a barley wine without any twists or additions.