Grand Lake Super Chicken Barley Wine

Brewed by Grand Lake Brewing Co
Style: Barley Wine
Grand Lake, Colorado USA

22oz bottle, courtesy of ryan. Thanks! Pours a bright, viscous orange-amber color; off-white head with patchy lacing. Lots of viscous brown sugar, sweet malts, and intense dried fruits in the aroma; very chewy, basic stuff. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: tea-like malts, brown sugar, and dried red fruits; intense, chewy stuff, if a bit singular in the expression; decent, chewy stuff. Lengthy finish, showing brown sugar, dried dark fruits, and toasty malts.

(12oz bottle, thanks ryan) Minimal beige head atop clear copper body. Aroma is moderately sweet, grapefruit, caramel, some toffee, some raisin/cherry, light cantaloupe. Taste is raisin, grapefruit, alcohol. Medium-full body.

Bottle poured a clear reddish brown with a small lingering amber head. Aromas of fruittiness, carmel, toffee and pepper. Palate was medium to full bodied and smooth with a warming finish. Flavors of toffee, burnt carmel and light fruittiness with a smooth warming lingering bittersweet finish.

Aged a few years. Brown, small head of various sized bubbles. Giant aroma of rich malts, meaty fruit and some wet cardboard due to some oxidation after aging that’s not there when it was fresh. Taste also included caramel, carob, hops. I’m rating this based on having tasted it a few times, including fresh.

22oz bottle acquired in a trade. Poured a deep reddish-brown color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of cardboard with some caramel and somewhat eathry. Tastes of pretty much the same. Shame that this one was past its prime as the bottle was cool (Super Chicken - can’t get any better than that name). Thin body.

This bottled brew poured a small sized head of mostly lasting foamy finely sized off white colored bubbles that left behind a good lacing and a dark brown colored semi-transparent uncarbonated body. The aroma was mildly vinous with a malt hop base. The mouth feel initially very tingly and got even stronger in the finish. The flavor was a mix of brown malt dark malt and hops that was good smooth balanced and vinous.

Bottle. Small tan head that mostly diminished, fair lacing, transparent, no visible carbonation, and a reddish brown hue. Nose was malty, caramel, sweet, hoppy, and alcohol. Flavor was sweet, malty, caramel, vinuous and some hop bitterness. Smooth palate. Medium body.

Sample BI Indy gathering 2/25/06 - Aroma of carmel, hops, and dark fruit. Pours brown with no head or lacing. Flavor matches aroma. Palate is too clean for a barleywine. Not bad.