Harpoon Barleywine (Bourbon Barrel Aged)

CBC reception @Harpoon-on tap–pours a retaining off white head and amber color. Aroma is vanilla/wood, sweet light malt/fruit-cherry. Taste is vanilla/wood, sweet light malt/fruit-cherry. Occasional.

Name: Barleywine - Wild Turkey
Date: 02/10/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Extreme Beer

Appearance: hazy dark gold,
Aroma: sweet candy carmel aroma with hot alcohol edge,
Flavor: flavor has lots of candy sweetness, ever present sharp alcohol edge, lasting bitter finish,
Overall: the bourbon takes over but still leaves a nice fruity barleywine in its wake

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4
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Name: Barleywine - Four Roses
Date: 02/10/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Extreme Beer

Appearance: hazy dark gold, frothy off white head,
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma with light earthy hops,
Flavor: nice sweet fruity malt flavor, touch of alcohol warmth, oaky bitterness, lingering alcohol burn,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 5/10
Score: *4
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Name: Barleywine - Jim Beam
Date: 02/10/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Extreme Beer

Appearance: hazy dark gold,
Aroma: light sweet caramel malt aroma,
Flavor: well bittered caramel malt flavor with a sweet alcoholic edge, the bourbon is only a touch of additional character,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4
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Name: Barleywine - Makers Mark
Date: 02/10/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Extreme Beer

Appearance: hazy dark gold, scant head,
Aroma: sweet caramel and whisky aroma,
Flavor: flavor has candy caramel sweetness, light bitter finish, lots of fruity sweetness, light oak, a bit muddy,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Unsure as to why three none-rated BA barley wines were listed under Harpoon, but I’ll opt to follow Mister McDermott’s lead and enter my rating here, too, although the festival program clear states that this was aged in Jim Beam barrels as well. It poued a dark golden body with a bubbly white head. It’s got a sweet malty aroma with the additional sweetness of the Wild Turkey. The flavor is fairly straightforward, a thick, rich malty sweetness with sturdy Bourbon tastes. A strong hoppy bitterness joins the fray midway, although it finishes on a sticky sweet note. Not too shabby.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/events-detail.asp?eventID=6174>Festival of Barrel Aged Beers, Chicago, IL 11/03/2007<font size=-1>

FoBAB 2007, Chicago. All right, I’ll put this here, although the program says it’s aged in Wild Turkey and Jim Beam barrels. Clean light brown color of barley, looking ready for a ride in the distillery. White head for a traditionally dark beer. Definite traces of Wild Turkey whiskey. They should join with Steve Dahl in his annual holiday plan to hand out Wild Turkey to the homeless on Lower Wacker Drive. Such a great use of cheap whiskey. Actually, this has a bit of ale fruitiness at finish; unexpected for sure.

Draught chalice at Redbones on 3/6/07. Wild Turkey barrel
Beige head is gone almost immediately, leaving a bit of bubbles at the edge, with no lacing. Clear (filtered) deep golden body has a fair amount of carbonation and some darker brass tones.
Not much of a nose, unfortunately. I get some light wood tannins (dry, nutty, lightly acidic), some minor fruitiness (though it is mostly reserved to the flavor) and just a phenomenal amount of raw, fusel alcohol, just like in the non-BA version. A bit of bready, medium maltiness mixes in with this, but after just 5 minutes of warming, it’s basically like smelling rubbing alcohol.
Flavor is not as full of alcohol, or more accurately, leaves some room for other flavors (because the alcohol is certainly still there). I get a wonderful, light fruitiness (pears, nectarines, bananas, peaches) with some cherry-vanilla and spicy caramel notes from the whiskey. The fruitiness is fun, and I even finished my glass because of it, but there’s little in the way of malt, just a lightly sweet honey-caramel flavor that is too lean and dominated by the bourbon. Alcohol heat is strong and makes every sip very challenging. Body has just a hint of chewiness, but is otherwise mostly just weak and slightly watery.