Great Dane Bourbon Barley Wine

For Great Dane, I saved this one for last during Great Taste of Midwest 2009 in Madison, Wisconsin. Pours a semi-clear dark copper orange colored brew with a fast dissolving beige head that dissipates clean. Aroma of vanilla, bourbon, a hint of raisin, coconut and toffee. Taste is medium to full bodied, plenty of alcohol with flavors of bourbon, vanilla, some toffee and prunes. Finish is metallic and sweet from the high alcohol content. Even has a little tart cherry after the finish. Nice!

Draft at the downtown location. Poured a clear mahogany-orange color. Head was off white and dissipated quickly. Rich aroma of vanilla, whiskey, plum, and burnt toffee. The alcohol singed my nasal passage mucous membranes. Thick and oily mouth feel with very little carbonation and a warming alcohol effect. I had no idea this was 15%, but it figures. Tasted great with oak, whiskey, vanilla, and apricot notes.

My tasting notes are from GTM 05. I thought the alcohol was to strong. I think it would be better over time.

03 vintage. Deep crimson brown muddy cloudy color no real head. Bourbon heavy malt lightly alcoholic touches of peat aroma. Palate is well coated & creamy. Huge malty flavor lots of syrups & carmels w/ a bourbon overtone.

On tap at the Madison location 8/13/05: Pours a murky cloudy muddy brown with a frothy, light-tan ring of foam. Aroma is rich, malty and caramely sweet balanced well with a hint of oaky bourbon complexity. Body starts with lots of sticky sweet caramel maltiness, bourbon oak, and a lightly bitter, warming alcoholic finish. Could hide the alcohol better, but otherwise a good, big beer.

GTM. Bourbon aroma. Not typical barleywine aroma. Dark brown with nice, light tan head. Buttery flavor. Really good. Doesn’t taste like a b-wine at all, more like a bourbon barrel porter. One of the best beers at the Great Taste this year.

Poured at the Great Taste of the Midwest, Madison, 8/13/2005. This was among the finest I tasted at the festival. I held Tyranena’s Spank Me Baby! Barleywine in one hand and Great Dane’s Bourbon in another. This caramel, butter, toffee, and vanilla flavors blended marvelously with a hint of orange, apricot, and dark cherry. I just can’t imagine how good this beer would be with age.

Sampled in the Madison location. This beer pours to a hazy mahogany body with a thin white head and no lacing. Bourbon barrels and sweet malts abound. Dark fruits and apricots. The flavor is very casky. Bourbon. Very malty but hard to describe. Light chocolate. The 15% alcohol is present. The palate is alcoholic but extremely creamy when swished in the mouth.