Harpoon 100 Barrel Series #04 - Barleywine

Formerly brewed at Harpoon Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Dishevelled grapefruit in unfortunate minerally bubbles...Sugary caramel notes cannot withstand the alcohol...Very sweet and thin for the style, a barley wine for which I don’t plan on having a hankering any time soon...

Very clear amber body with basically no head. Aroma is full of annoying alcohol which burns the nose. If it was a pils, I’m sure it would be skunk, now it is far from a pilsner, but there’s to me that little something annoying and besides not much going on. The taste is very caramelic, immensely sweet, grossly sweet, full of alcohol. There may be a mild note of smoked ham, but seriously, this lacks dryness big time and is really short on the palate, besides the cloying sensation which doesn’t seem to want to go. Body is thin-medium. A very poor barley wine which disappoints me regardless of the low expectations I had.

Bottled 7/01/2004. Session 04. Hazy, copper body with a thin, white head. Strong aroma of both caramel, toffee and bread and grapefruit, oranges, pine resin and a touch of floral perfume. A moderately thick and thoroughly sticky body. The flavors are strong but have a nice combination of sweet malts and bitter hops. Caramel, orange, toffee, grapefruit and malt all play off each other to make an interesting beer. Good but not all that great. A little too harsh for me. With some more time, this could have a been splendid.

The beer dispenses from the 22 ounce brown bottle an unclouded mahogany color, the head modest in size, frothy in texture and the color a winsome light tan with the residual lace a fine silk slip to cover the glass. Nose is sweet malt, light hit of hops and a pleasing bit of fusel alcohol, start is sweet, nice malt profile with the top middling in feel to the palate. Finish is moderate in its acidity, the hops spiteful in their bite, the aftertaste quite dry with a nice alcohol bite to seal it off, and nice representative to the “Barley Wine Style”.

100 Barrel Series. Poured amber with no head. Taste was a bit sweet with the alcohol masked pretty nicely except for the aroma. A real treat.

Pours orange, with a small vanilla aroma. Much thinner than any other barleywine I've ever had. Very hoppy, slightly sweet to start, but rather bitter in the end and aftertaste. Not great, just OK.

22 oz bottle. Very light, bright orange, clear, virtually no head, still. Very sweet caramel malty nose, light alcohol presence, vanilla. Very sweet initially on the tongue, almost candyish, but turns excessively dry and almost astringent at the end. Alcohol a bit too prominent towards the finish; overall just ok.

I was impressed with this Harpoon beer, and disappointed that I probably won't get to have it again. The alcohol is very well hidden, and it's quite unique among barleywines. Very wine-like qualities to it, and it's not too sweet at all. A little fruity and yet not dainty at all. Yum.