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

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

Pours a bright, dark, golden-red with a beautiful, loose head. The aroma is gorgeous - deep dark fruitiness (cherries, plums), then getting into tobacco territory, with overtones of a herbal estate chocolate. Sweetish start moves to a moderately bitter chocolate middle, then takes on a slightly boozy accent later. The elements aren’t coming together on the tongue the way they did on the nose, which is too bad because there’s some killer stuff going on here...a little age might improve this a lot.

(750ml bottle, batch E!007) Yeast-filled murky brown body topped by large beige head that leaves nice lacing. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, raisin, some rye, alcohol. Taste is moderately sweet, caramel, raisin, some alcohol, light chocolate/vanilla. Full body with moderate stickiness that nevertheless is fairly easy to drink.

(750ml bottle) Pours a cloudy dark amber-orange body with a small beige head. Aroma of caramel, plum, wood, and toffee. Flavor of artificial cherry, pine, dark caramel, rye, some chocolate, and brown sugar with a dry finish.

Sampled from 750ml bottle courtesy of TomDecapolis. Bottle labeled #359, release date June 07. Poured a medium to deeper mahogany color with a smaller sized tan head. Aromas of dark fruits, dark cherries, light wood, vanilla, brown sugar and nutty. Tastes of vanilla, light wood, dark fruits, chocolate, and very light whiskey. Alcohol content well hidden.

Objectively speaking: Original barleywine that is perhaps not as interesting in the glass as it is on paper.
I like: Restrained barrel influence. Very pleasant toasty aspects. Strawberry notes to the aroma. Soft tobacco whispers, coffee even.
I dislike: Quickly fading head. Watery edges, especially towards the end. Many hesitating flavours. 4 different rye malts? That would beg for further cerealic/spicy depth, but I did not find it. Neither was the body so thick. I wonder what % of the total grist was rye? Short finish.

Bottle sampled on 9/15/07: Pours a hazy ruby mahogany with a nicely-lacing small bubbled head. Complex dark caramely malty nose has good rye character and a touch of oak. Body starts fairly full and caramely sweet with good dark fruity complexity and some brown sugar. Nicely balanced and very drinkable.