Flying Dog Horn Dog Barley Wine

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

Hazy burnished mahogany, browns, and deep russet-hued garnets float suspended under a coppery head which fades rather quickly into a thin ringlet. Why? To free the path from her nose to mine. Oh yes, come to Kristyn, sweet olfactory delights of sweet pumpernickel bread, plums, prunes, raisins, maraschino cherries, and barrel aged spiced rum. Breathing even deeper, I soak in her bounty of fresh cinnamon sticks, brown spice, and apples sauced into sweet pulpy perfection. White grapes and white raisins join the fray as wood, dry and spiced with sweet boozy warmth hits last, leading me into a smackingly delicious lip-coating first quaff. Homemade applesauce sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg, plums, white grapes, and white raisins lie atop wood planks, freshly cut, and awaiting a coopers touch to turn them into barrels which will lovingly house the finest rums, spiced and not. Licking my lips, I taste maple, molasses, and gentle brown sugar. Chewing through her heavenly delights, warm pumpernickel fresh from the oven steams quietly as I slice a thick slice for my own selfish enjoyment which pairs nicely with the plate of moist pitted dried prunes. Warmth permeates my chest even as my breath tickles with dry brown spice, rum, and wood. As the glass and her contents warm, every single aspect of her aroma and her palate melt together in sensual perfection. Not overly heavy in weight or robust in palate, the Horn Dog Barleywine is an excellent sessionable Barleywine which is a dangerous feat indeed considering her generous 10.2%ABV.

Wonderfully mouth-coating and rich with just the right amount of weight and kick. I enjoy Barleywines of various strengths, and Horn Dog falls pleasantly right in the middle. I also learned most accidentally, she makes a great beer blend with the Immort Ale from Dogfish Head. Don’t believe me? Try it yourself, but be sure to savor a Flying Dog Horn Dog Barleywine or two on her own before entering the vaunted and oft misunderstood world of beer blends.

355 mL bottle. Hazy orange-brown with a small ring of head. Aroma has a lot of orchard fruit, some caramel, and some alcohol. The flavour exhibits a lot of fruit as well, particularly delicious apples. There is some malt sweetness in there as well, some alcohol, and some floral hops. Body is not as full as it should be, although this improves as the beer warms. Nice beer, but not strong for the style.

Pours out a dark reddish brown with a very light brown small head. Not much of a smell to it. Taste is pretty complex, bitter and malty at the same time, tastes a bit chocolatey going down, and leaves a lingering slight licorice flavor in your mouth. That all being said, it still wasn’t anything too special, and I don’t think I’ll be purchasing it again.

33 cl bottle, Winnipeg, MB, Canada. Deep amber brown, thin but persistent head. Sweet caramel, bread and roasted malt aroma. Very sweet flavor, subdued alcohol and quite smooth.

Bottled. Almost no head. Huge aroma from the chocolate malts added. You can taste the malts but not too much hoppiness. Taste the alcohol.

Smells like banana, citrus fruit. Ruby red. Very long aftertaste, very nice, smooth and banany.

Pours a hazy brownish amber with a thin white head. Aroma is sweet malt, a bit of red licorice, and some dark fruits. Flavor is sweet malt, caramel, twizzlers, a little bit of ripe dark fruit, and a noticeable alcohol presence.

7 oz bottle, they got us :) Pours a barely hazy red brown small but creamy light tan head. Aroma is very candyish, plenty of dark fruit, enough to give it some balance, plum and prune. Some candi sugar is present along with a decent hop character. Flavor is very english style barleywine. Not a lot of hops, a lot of malt, fruity and a lot of rich malt along with some candy character. No alcohol is apparent and the finish is sweet and smooth. Medium body and a very soft carbonation. Eh, not huge on english barley wine but this is very smooth and easy drinking.