Iron Hill Barleywine

Brewed by Iron Hill Newark
Style: Barley Wine
Newark, Delaware USA

"Old Tom" On tap at the Wilimington Brewery: Amber in color. Good lacing, and an ok head. Aroma was weak smell of dried fruit. Flavor was smooth! Sweet dried fruits. Texture was medium light, no carbonation. Over all pretty enjoyable but not as good as their sasquatch!

Quite an enjoyable little BW. Healthy presence of hops. A bit floral. Malt was a little thin for the beer, but overall enjoyable.

bottle cellared since dark lord day ’07...... reddish amber brown pour and looks somewhat fizzy and caronated. a frothy white one inch head tops it off.... aroma wasn’t what i was expecting. lots of fruit here. apple and sour grape notes and almost like it was aged in a oak barrel but i might just be trippin...... flavors are on the same wavelength which i am glad of. carbonation was at a nice level.....i was expecting a caramely malty barleywine and was much surprised by this fruity and refreshing and not entirely heavy barleywine.....a pleasant surprise!

750 ml bottle via trade a ways back, shared with my girlfriend Cyn after a day that really needed a beer to cap it off. Pours ruddy amber cloudy with not much air passing through. There is a nice tan head that follows. Nose is pretty dry and sweet with a variety of notes, that I can’t quite place. Taste is sweet, with a bit of fruity caramel edge and slight mouth burn on the back end. This is a pretty tasty barleywine, but its lacking depth, it has good aspects but they are limited. Overall worth having, surprised its only had such few ratings.

Pours a dark amber color with a tan head. Aroma is apple, apricot, and some roasted malts. Flavor is malty, apple, apricot and a roasted malt finish.

Bottle: Deep caramel, quite dark, slight ruby tint, large fizzy light beige head, spotty lacing, very light carbonation.   The color certainly looks very inviting!   Very slight sourness and oak on the nose, pale citrus and even softer malts are present.   Not much in the way of a hop nose... definitely not a west coast Barley Wine.   Sweet, yet somewhat sour, citrus character up front.   Soft notes of oak, and perhaps even unripened cherries.   Not as hefty in the malts either.   Interesting Barley Wine.   Fairly smooth, not heavy at all.   Lighter than most, a little bit more oakish and sour, albeit minor, than most other examples.   Lingering citrus like bitterness emerges after the finish.   Unfortunately body and mouthfeel are pretty average.   Not capturing me at all.   Decent beer, however doesnt seem to have enough malt character.   In my opinion not worth the $ the place on this one.   Again, fairly decent beer but it seems a bit too light.   I will give it this, the ABV is well hidden.   Doesn’t feel like 10% tho.   Anyways, enjoyable but not to the extent that I thought it was going to be based on the $ amount.   Thanks Steve for sending the bottles!!!

Date: 06/10/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Noog 3D

muddy dark amber, fine beige head, drops of lace, sweet dark caramel aroma with a big earthy character, lots of dry bitter earthy flavor, touch of dark caramel adds richness but no sweetness, slight tart edge,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

"Old Tom Barleywine" - Had a 4 oz sample from their sampler (so not the best foundation for a review)...but I thought this was very good. Strong alcohol aroma but the taste was surprisingly smooth...especially compared to the other barleywines I’ve had. They do it right at Iron Hill. Very good...I’d have this one again.