Iron Hill Bourbon (Tom) Barleywine

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

GABF ’05. Cloudy brown body. Butter, heavy cream, clove cigarettes, bourbon, crystal malt in teh aroma. Very well-blended if you know what I mean. Super well-blended flavor - butter, sweet vanilla, chocolate mousse, boubon, wood flavors in the flavor. Alcohol and stem in the finish. Top-notch stuff.
Earlier Rating: 10/5/2004 Total Score: 3.6
2004 GABF, this was a barrel-aged version. Murky brown color. Cake batter and vanila in the alcohol-tinted aroma. Big malty flavor - starts with dark liquor-soaked fruit and dark bread. Finishes with grassy hops, alcohol, and kind of a buttery smoothness. Too much alcohol for me, but the sweet vanilla notes were very tasty.

Hazy light brown small tan head nice lacing. Big sweet carmel and toffee aroma w/ hints of bourbon. Palte is smooth coated and creamy. Flavor is a buttery sweet toffee bourbon light chocolate and alcohol. Good stuff.

A hazy orange beer with small off-white head. The aroma is very hoppy combined with notes of caramel and malt. The flavor is sweet and very hoppy combined with notes of bourbon, wood, and caramel. Good - but not great to me.

Whiskey Barrel Aged, 2002, sampled 12/04... Poured a lightly hazy, reddish brown color, with a thin, off white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of vanilla oak and sweet malty, caramel. Taste was sweet and sticky malts, vanilla, bourbon, cherry, light citrus hops, and finished with very light alcohol. This was an amazing beer!

GABF 2004. Labeled as "Bourbon Barleywine." For a while, this was vying for top-5 status in my Beers of the Fest list. Wonderfully different than other barley wines I’ve had, yet retaining certain familiar characteristics. Smell of bourbon, smoked wood, and watery raisins. Piss brown in the glass with a small light brown head. Robust flavors of honey and raisin gave way to cotton candy sweetness, which morphed into a Chupa-Chup finish of vanilla: phenomenal. Great body for the strength of the flavors, this didn’t feel flat or watery like some barley wines do. Good beer.

GABF 2004 - Bourbon barrel aged version - Small white head atop a murky pale plum colored body. Nose of vanilla bean, meaty foods, and smoke. Oily texture with lower than preffered carbonation... burning, heavy alcohol with a wine and bourbon flavor... astringent, salty tasting and harsh. I’m a big barley wine fan, and have been really impressed by any barley wine aged in wine barrels... but bourbon?!?! Sorry, this one just turns me off, and I realize I may be the only one with that opinion.

GABF barrel aged version. Like drinking a caramel apple sucker. Quite sweet, yet hopping is still apparent. Alcohol is subdued. Unique.

GABF 2004. Cloudy brown body and frothy beige head. Fantastic nose of caramelized nuts. Big vanilla and bourbon notes. Very sweet, too sweet actually, but this is a damn tasty candy beer.