Flying Dog Horn Dog Barley Wine

Bottle probably about 1yr old, sat around in the fridge, never surfacing as one I wanted to try, not sure why I bought it in the first place, as I’m not a huge FD fan, cough, cough. The pour was brown with some reddish aspects, weak head, near nil lacing. The aroma was fruity, dark fruity, molasses, caramel. The flavor was dark fruity (not in a great way, though), caramel (sticky, icky, off), sticky, finishing with a slightly but not significantly redeeming piney (slight citrus) hop touch. Mouthfeel was lowly carbonated, sticky, actually quite an astringent mess. Ignore the label, this ain’t nothing like a "fine wine," and if it gets better over time, I’m glad I let it sit around for a little while before consuming. Boo, FD!

’07 Bottle tasted August ’08.

I’ve been drinking a lot of really good beers lately and I guess I felt like it was time to do penance. This one has been sitting around for a while. Pours brown with plentiful ruby highlights and a modest head leaving long-lived foamy lace around the edge of the glass. Nose of green apples and hot alcohol, rotten vegetables and a bit of old cheese. Really not impressive, but if anything the flavor is even less pleasant. Alcohol, cough syrup, very sticky-sweet, candied prunes, an assortment of the various off-flavors one might find in a barleywine. Drain pour.

Bottle, 355 cl. (Bought @ Mi Orge Mi Houblon, Arlon) Hazy amber-brown color, a good offwhite head. Aroma malts, light hops. Medium body. Taste malts, bit hops and a warming touch of alcohol. Not bad.

Bottle. Pours a hazy amber with a small off white head. Aroma of sweet fruit, molasses and malt. Tastes of wood and rasin/citrus. The alcohol is warming, great beer for this raining day.

Bottle. Amber brown with purple and a small head. Aromas are sweet malts and berries with molasses and bready yeast. Lightly spicy and vinous with woody herbal notes. Flavours are sweet toffee mailts with spiced resinous oranges. Fruity and moreish with nice spicy pine. The alcohol is not too harsh. A good warming brew.

Strong malt with a light hops late in the aroma. Dark amber color with a medium tan head. Light start with a sweet malt flavor in the beginning with a moderate hoppy finish. Lightly creamy palate.

Amber pour into glass. Tastes like a pretty standard barley wine. Pretty good beer, but nothing exceptional.

12 oz bottle into pint glass. Hazy brown pour with red notes and a good offwhite head. Aroma of mostly dough malt and light hops. The flavor is mostly robust pale malt with dough characteristics and a slight grapefruit hop finish with lots of alcohol that wasn’t really offensive but was definitely not hidden well. A very warm beer. Medium bodied. Overall: fine beer, and potent, but not close to the best example of the style.