Free State Old Backus Barleywine

Brewed by Free State Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Lawrence, Kansas USA

2007 hand bottle from AgentSteve (via mreusch?). Tasted at WeeHeavySDs place. Great musty aged barleywine aroma. High viscosity. Dark amber color. Low carbonation. Some cardboard in the taste and a little past it’s prime. Not sweet or dry. Some bitterness.

12oz handbottle 2007 vintage brought by John, wetherel 5th beer of the tasting I hosted tonight, shared with bikesandbeer, wetherel and my girlfriend Cyn. Pours deep orange with a tan ring. Nose is big big and sweet. Taste is sweet, with a rolling very nice overall taste.

Much thanks to hopdog for this... Appears a dark opaque brown with crimson highlights. Small bubbles slowly rise to the top of the glass. A small, light tan cap fades into a mild film and hearty collar of batter-like bubbles. Scattered streaks of lacing are left around the glass. Smell is of heavy malt, raisins, toffee, cocoa, figs, tobacco, brown sugar, caramel, vanilla, sugar cookies, ripened dark fruits, mild hints of black cherries. This is what I’ve been craving. Taste is of the mentioned aromas with a sugary blend of fruit, raisins, vanilla, and an array of gourmet cocoa, molasses, and toasted nuts. Hot damn! This is a definite winner that I’m proud to say I’ve had the pleasure of drinking. Mouthfeel is full bodied, chewy, smooth, mildly fruity, creamy, syrupy, with a touch of heat and rum soaked raisins lingering along the palate. Steve, Tom, and Eric...thanks a bunch for saving some of this delicious nectar. This was truly a treat! This could possibly be one of the best barleywines that I ever recall having.

Hand bottle courtesy of mreusch. (Thanks Matt!) Pours deep mahogany with a few bubbles on the top impersonating what would usually be a head. The nose is dried fruit, brown sugar, molasses, and booze. The flavor is similar, but much smoother. After the nose on this beast, I expected a wallop of flavor that would burn of alcohol. I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth it was on the palate and taste buds. I’d love to have it fresh on tap! Excellent with one of my favorites, Manchego cheese.

Draught @ Brewpub: I was quite happy to see a 2005 vintage of this up on the day I visited. It is served in a small snifter. It pours a hazy, ruby tinged, brownish amber color. There is a good sized off-white head on it. It left a bit amount of lacing. There are notes of caramel, toffee, dark fruits and chocolate to the nose. The taste is excellent. Full bodied, a hint of bitterness, very complex. Hints of dark fruits. Very nice!

Sample from hand bottle from Axilla, from Hopdog. Thanks! Poured a hazy brown color with a haze of amber. Small sized off white head with quickly diminished. Aroma of caramel, roasted coffee and dark fruits. Tastes of roasted coffee, toffee, and an underlying dark fruit sweetness. Finish is nice and shows very little alcohol.

22oz hand bottle with a HUGE thanks to mreusch. Spicy toffee, raisins and caramel on the nose. Plenty of dried fruit skin, some beef bullion (?) and a good level of hop bitterness as well. Pours a thick, almost lifeless looking dark amber with a thin ring of a white head with some light patchy lacking. 150 IBU? Not quite sure about that, but the malts and the hops blend quite seamlessly on the tongue for sure. Spicy hops and chewy, sticky sweet malt mingle quite nicely. A pleasant tartness abounds on the backside. Almost like red grape skin tannin. This is a most unique barley wine for sure. Leaning toward full bodied. Even through the hand bottle, the carbonation level is spot on for his style of beer. Sweet and spicy finish with a good amount of length. Thanks a ton Matt!

Good, but not great. Aroma is a ton of rasins and spice. Taste is the same as aroma, tastes just like it smells. Had this with Adam and Andrew. We all agreed on the spice and rasin flavors, probably will not go out of my way to get this one.