Green Flash Barleywine

Brewed by Green Flash Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Vista, California USA

650 ml, 2008 vintage. Clear ruby-copper with a small lasting cap of foam. Aroma of earthy dried herbs, maple, caramel, nuts and chocolate. Flavor is similar but tilted more to the dry herbs and toasted nut than the sweeter aroma indicated. Some oak and a lot of peppery hops in the finish. There is a unique smell (and more so a flavor) in this one that seems almost like toasted sesame oil, soy sauce or something of the sort - a nutty-grainy-bitter hop-green herb combo that is quite a nice counter to all the sweet malt. Medium-heavy body finishes long and hoppy-dry, and is lightly carbonated

bottle 2008 vintage: pours cloudy red color with off-white greenish head. Sweet malt aroma with a note of wheatgrass or something green. Heavy hop taste with sweet malt complement. I could not help noticing the taste of something green in this beer like a shot of wheatgrass in a health shake. Good nevertheless and I should have shared this bomber with someone else due to the high alcohol content.

Pours a reddish-brown with yellow highlights and a tan head that’s creamy, good sized, and long-lasting. Aroma is very heavy on the hops with lots of grapefruit, orange, pine and wood, giving way to maltier tendancies (maple, brown sugar, caramel) as it warms. The warm smell is more inviting to me, with it’s maple syrup note. Tastes or caramel, grapefruit, orange rind, brown sugar, wood, and a light char. Finishes quite bitter with grapefruit, orange and a good amount of woody char. Creamy mouthfeel for sure, but it doesn’t feel QUITE heavy enough. I also feel that flavor seemed just a tad weak. It’s got some good points, but there’s no reason to pick this over Bigfoot or it’s clones other than variety.

A good barleywine, but nothing that really stood out amongst others I’ve had. Strong malty base, carmally. Bitterness is potent, but not overpowering. This was easy to drink (as far as barleywines go), and overall just good, but not spectacular.

Pours a three finger very light tan head that fades slowly, leaving a good lace. Cloudy amber color. Light-medium carbonation and medium-heavy bodied. Burnt molasses nose. Flavor is molasses and caramel with a disappointing bitter finish. $6.80 for a 22oz bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, Ma.

A heavy hoped barley wine - ends up as one of my favorites. Enjoyed this Vintage 2008 with one of my beer loving fiends in the garden after a good meal - does not gets much better! The color is amber with creamy ivory head. Sweet aroma with the first indications of a over welling hob experience. The flavor is rich and sweet at first and the hobs and a diversity of citrus fruits in the beginning followed by a long lasting balanced bitterness. The 10% alcohol is well camouflaged making this barley wine dangerously drinkable.

Amber colour. Head is off-white and frothy, fully lasting. Aroma is harsh malty and hoppy, grass. Flavor is heavy sweet and bitter. Long finish, full body. Dry, syrup texture. Heavy alcohol.

Not a big barley wine fan aymore but this one I could drink regularily. Really not a negative thing to say about this one other than it’s way to drinkable at 10%. I had the bomber polished off in no time.