Heavyweight Old Salty

Bottle courtesy of Oslo, Ratebeer tasting under the Bridge 12/9. 2004 bottle, as stated below by highlandlad, slightly oxidised. The aroma is sweet and alcoholic, caramel, some sultanas. The flavour is quite sweet, some dark fruits, and warming alcohol.

Our 2004 bottle showed mild oxidation but this style can handle a few sherry notes. Lots of stewed fruits, caramel and a warming finish. Slick palate. Very nice drinking. The human failing of suggestibility meant this actually tasted salty to me at the end of a long group tasting. Lucky it’s not called Old Shitty. 񢉔 bottle courtesy of Oslo - thanks buddy - at the Milson Point park session September 09)

12 oz bottle courtesy of Secret santa. Thanks Rudy. This is the 2004 bottling. Pours a hazy chestnut brown color with a small beige head that has fair retention. The aroma is rich with molasses, dark fruits, toffee and spices. The flavor is faithful to the aroma; lots of dark fruits and toffee. The palate is smooth, creamy and full with soft carbonation. The finish is long with lingering brown sugar. A very tasty barleywine, I’m glad I had a chance to try it.

2005 bottle. Deep, reddish-brown, muddy body. No head and little carbonation. Thick, viscous aroma of caramel, raisin, prune and some hints of anise. Smooth flavor - prune comes through along with some chocolate, cherry syrup and white grape. 4 years of slow oxidation is highlighted by some light sherry notes. Similarly smooth palate, full body, no carbonation, very sweet and light bitterness. Overall a smooth, very enjoyable barley wine. Good sipping beer.

Too bad they stopped brewing. Always enjoyed the offerings from here. This bottle may have reached its’ zenith. Pours a cloudy brown color with no head. Aroma of caramel, molasses, spice, and raisins. Perfection on the palate! Smooth. Tastes of caramel, molasses, and dark fruit. Hard to find a flaw in this.

Very sweet, without great depth. Good cellar flavor if that’s your thing. Moderate palate. I didn’t care for this. Bottle shared at RBSG 2009 grand tasting.

I was waiting a long time to get my hands on a few of these guys. I came up with a bottle of 03, 2 bottles of 04, and one 05. I drank them in a vertical starting at 03. 2003: Pour is a deep hazy brown/ruby with no head at all. It almost looked like iced tea in the glass. To the nose you get loads of plum, rasins, caramel, oak, and malt. The flavor is full of caramel, sweet potato, candy, plum and cherry. This one is sooo mellow and smooth. 2004: Pour is deep amber with about 1 finger of caramel colored head. One of the bottles was really cheesy and funky. That one went right down the drain and I cracked the other one. The nose on this one was full of malt, sweet fruits, a slight musty funk, and faded hops. The flavor was slightly oxidized with sweet malts, faded hops, and some caramel. Drinkable but a little past it’s prime. 2005: The pour is a deep ruby/brown with no head at all. To the nose is a slight alcohol tinge, sweet fruits, cherries, and vanilla. The flavor is really mellow with loads of caramel, vanilla, burbon notes, warming alcohol, and some rasins. Better than the 04 but slightly watery. Overall the 03 was the best. Awesome brew and im damn happy that I got to do a mini vert. tasting with it. I just need to track down some of the older vintages and see what they’re like.

Bottle of the 04 at the Cuvee de Castleton release at Captain Lawrence. I was rather excited to try this as by the time I really started getting into hunting down craft beer that was not readily available in my own backyard, Heavyweight was out of business, so I missed out on trying anything of theirs until now. So thank you mystery person who shared this with me. Pours a hazy ruby color with a thin beige head. Caramel and vanilla on the nose. Sweet, sweet, and more sweet. Finishes with some light fruit. Pretty tasty.