Ithaca Excelsior! Old Habit

Brewed by Ithaca Beer Company
Style: Barley Wine
Ithaca, New York USA

(Bottle 75 cl) Courtesy of MPA. Bottle #655. Pours a hazy, dark, orangey brown with a creamy, light brown head. Pleasant aroma of caramel, overripe fruit and wood. Medium body with notes of dry, lightly burned caramel and some overripe fruit. Discreet but pleasant accents from the barrel. Fairly bitter finish. A very good if not exactly outstanding Barley Wine. 120108

Thanks to MPA for sharing. Dark brown of color with a off white head. An aroma of caramel, raisins and notes of liqurice. A flavor of caramel, spice, oily and notes of cheese.

Appearance: Pours a clearish, dark brown body. Sure, there’s no head, but check out the legs! Smell: Aroma of fresh rye bread and dark fruit syrup. A hefty amount of wood in the nose from the start, but, as it warms, more boubronesque notes of vanilla and light brown sugar emerge. Taste: Rich, dark fruitiness, then everything goes hot. The spiciness of the rye links up to the bright booziness to give the impression of capsaicin heat. Once you realize there’s no chili inside, you can isolate the rye and whiskey components. Afterwards, a simple syrup sweetness perks up, along with hints of vanilla, brown sugar, and more wood. Finishes sweetish and hot with a lingering woodiness. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Mild carbonation. Syrupy mouthfeel, which is not to say that it’s cloying, just very, very thick. Drinkability: It’s definitely a sipper, but an interesting one.

June 2007 bottling, #679. Bottle from jah noth. Appearance is much like prune juice, topped by a thin, tight cream head. Aroma of caramels and some sweet spicy notes, brown sugar, and medicinal characteristics. Toasty body with brown sugar, chocolate, and dark fruits. The rye malt is somewhat peachy and musty, especially in its interplay with the oak. Cinnamon. Light tartness. Earthy, bitter finish. Intense and over-the-top, this rough beer needs more age. Even with age, there is probably too much going on here.

This barley wine pours a medium reddish amber color from a 750ml bottle. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is malty and sweet, a touch of oxidation and earthy hops. A medium bodied Barley Wine. The malts are caramel, fruity and sweet, tastes a touch oxidized but adds to the flavor. The hops are floral and earthy. Nicely balanced. Could stand to be a little more carbonation, seems a little flat. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

750ml bottle: Pours to a mostly opaque brown colored body, clear when held to the light which could mean this one is finely filtered, with a small light tan head. The aroma shows sugary ripe apples, sweet molasses, plum, sweet spicy hops, raisins, and a bit of mulled cider scents. The taste is sweet and fruity up front, but it’s very ripe, sugary, dark fruit flavors like over-ripened apples, pears, plums, with some spicy oak, vanilla, and charred wood barrel flavors coming towards the middle with some bitter hops showing themselves in your nose and then just on the very finish of the beer. The rye adds a nice bit of spice to the beer that can also be felt on the tongue. Medium bodied, soft carbonation & slightly syrupy which leads to a slightly chewy mouthfeel. At times it feels a bit like it lacks malt depth, but on the bright side Ithaca has done an excellent job with the whiskey barrel (chips?) aging and the alcohol flavors are at no point overwhelming. This one would probably be very nice to lay down for a few years before drinking.

Date: 11/30/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

hazy dark red, frothy beige head, sweet dark caramel aroma with a touch of fruity balanced by dry earthy hops, sweet caramel malt flavor, lots of bready cheracter, earthy hops keep it balanced,
-------- /> Date: 01/01/2008
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2007
Score: 3.1 to 3.5

lots more fruity character in the aroma with figs and dark chocolate, fruity character is coming through a bit stronger in the flavor but dominated by dark caramel and sweet chocolate, light earthy hops provide some balance but lets the sweetness keep control,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

2007 PP SAF Bottle (#920) from Goldtwins, thanks!: Reddish and amber hued with a small beige head and minimal lace. The aroma has notes of oxidized old malts, leather, aromatic hops, earthy yeast esters, wood, rye, and plum notes. The taste is fruity and malty upfront with an olde school English Barleywine malt profile. A bit grassy, woody, vanilla, and rye spice on the finish. The mouth feel is soft and smooth, chewy and warming. Nice, a pleasurable drink.