Ithaca Excelsior! Old Habit

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

amber color although the light sux where i am, off white head, nose is caremel malts some kinda spice. Flavor continues with caramel , some oak no real disearnable rye?? some tobacco id agree with a few who found that, nice beer

Bottle shared by ogglethorp. Deep red pour with a tan head. Aroma of whiskey, caramel, and sweet malt. Flavors of vanilla, oak, booze, caramel malt, and earthy hops. Thick body, sweet/boozey with a sweet/boozey/malty finish.

Another old rating just found... Bottle from June ’07 # 519 -- Nice mahogony body with a think white head. Aroma is malty with a hint of light fruits. Dark fruit taste with some light toffee and malts. Semi-sweet ending though it is somewhat thiner than was expected.

I could smell the big bouquet from this for quite a distance, before I took an official ’whiff.’ And it was good, very sweet, alcohol, chocolate, figs. The look is very nice too, brown with orange highlights. Has quite a bit of lacing, some retention. The palate is syrupy, boozy, grainy, some bourbon. I liked it, seems this brewer keeps improving.

Bottle. Pours an opaque brown with a small instantly disappearing head. Aroma was sweet (barleywine-like), caramel, oak, malt and alcohol. Tasted of alcohol and sweetness with a rye-bourbon flavor. Smooth and tasty.

The pour reveals a murky brown color with a ring of offwhite lace on top. Nice aroma of chocolate, caramel, malt and wood. The flavor is strong on the malt, caramel and chocolate, sweetness is felt all the way, the wood is less present though and I didn’t detect the rye. The body is light to medium with a creamy texture and moderate carbonation. It’s not a great barley wine , but it was interesting.

bottle from a recent trade with beertruth (methinks). thanks man..... poured a dark reddish brown with a frothy caramel brown head. looked pretty interesting off the bat..... aroma was dark fruits and a hint of whiskey and wood.... flavors went a little downhill. more so of the dark fruit essence, some brandy-like sweetness, and caramel malt. it was a little hoppy and extremely carbonated as well. it just didn’t meld together all that effectively.

In short: A very soft fruity “everyday” Barley wine. Smooth and pleasant but lacking character for the style.
How: Drank my own 750ml bottle (6 months old) the day after I sampled it at the at Back from Europe tasting session with Montreal crew
The look: Dark mahogany body with a medium beige head
In long: Very fruity with lots of caramel and toffee, some chocolate and some woody notes. The fruity notes range from the red dessert fruits (berries, strawberries) to the usual array of dark fruits (figs, dates). Feels like a creamy dessert. Not much hops bit here. Soft carbonation and soft body. Far from an intense beer this is what I would call a “session” Barley-Wine. Highly drinkable and pleasantly smooth but that’s not exactly what I’m hoping for I a Barley-Wine. Not great but I’m glad a friend brought a bottle to our tasting session so I could drink my own bottle by myself. Yet another Old Habit (picking my nose and eating the thing, scratching my butt and smelling my fingers) that I enjoyed by myself.