Heavyweight Old Salty

Formerly brewed at Heavyweight Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Ocean Township, New Jersey USA

2003 edition. Loads of sweet malts in the nose, some hoppyness. Cloudy dark red body, no head. Subtle flavors of portwine, berries, loads of sweetness and a good ol hop shot. Very nice barley wine. Thanks to Dorwart for trading me this one.

Bottled - 2003: Amber coloured clear. Light brown head. Sweetness, fruits, some spices and alcahol in the nose. Herbs, flowers and malt in the flavour. Loads of alcahol in the end. Quite nice, but I had ’em better.

Tom Baker has come through again with this beer. I must admit to being quite a bit pissed off that the 2000 through 2003 vintages haven’t been broken out into their own separate categories. I have examples of all 4 should anyone want to trade, and they all are somewhat different. I’m rating my highest vintage, the 2002. The 2002 pours turbid brown with minimal head. Aroma of malt, huge dark fruit, hops, and citrus. Tastes malty, dark-fruity. Firm palate, with a very smooth, fruity finish, and well hidden, but present, alcohol. I did a vertical of the 2000-2003 vintages tonight, and I’ve been drinking good beer for 18 years, and this stuff still gave my alcohol dehydrogenase enzymes a workout. Delicious, but don’t drive if you’re doing a vertical (and, for God’s sake, let’s break out these different vintages into different categories, guys!). Cheers.

2003 bottle. Thanks Jeremy for gracing me with this on my Birthday! And a Jersey beer! What can be better? Deep, dark mahagony color wiht a frothy tan head. Faint aroma. Some malt and spice. Tastes better. More complex. You can sense the alcohol, with a hint of apples, spices, malts, and some dry hopping in the aftertaste. Overall not bad, but I was expecting a lot more. Still a good treat.

2003: Some head. Deeply malty, and a much better experience than the earlier bottle. Maple flavors along with alcoholic spiciness, tree bark. Smells like the earth. Original: 2000 bottle. Flattest beer I’ve ever had? Murky - very earthy maltiness - sweet and sticky, very vegetal, very dull cloudy copper. Rotting small animals constitute the principal aromatics. Alcohol was so masked...? Still, interesting (obviously!).

Bottled 2003 version. Not a bad beer. A little to much malt for my taste. The alcohol wasn’t hidden very well either. I’m not complaining about that however.

Tap. Pretty red; very hazy. Aroma of cherries, apple, alcohol - very complex and good. Nice followthrough until the rather bland finish, just like the Bier d’Art that I just had. Strong malt presence - a good representation of the style despite the weak finish.

This barley wine pours with a slightly cloudy amber-brown body topped by a thin head with little lacing. The aroma is slightly sweet and malty with a touch of salt, a touch of caramel and a little alcohol. The flavor is sweet and malty with brown sugar notes, a touch of caramel and a little salt. Full bodied and smooth.