 stefanberggren (135), Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Jul 22, 2004
This ale commands attention and with a complexity that makes me feel like trying again. I really enjoyed the background whisky notes (albeit faint). The taste is sweet with jabs of caramel and intense malt. The alcohol is apparent, but hidden until the finish. Slight vanilla nose and entry. I like this better than the Calvados version
KimJohansen (3171), Copenhagen V, Denmark
Aug 28, 2008 Hazy amber with tiny beige head. Sweet and vinious aroma with wood, smoke and whiskey notes. Sweet flavor with notes of plums, peat, smoke, wood, caramel and whiskEy.
dm9831 (572), Monee, Illinois, USA
Aug 26, 2008 2004 vintage, whiskey barrel aged. deep ruby colored, tiny tan bubbles with some spotty lacing. aroma of sweet malt and plums. flavor is smokey, thick, smooth, with brandy-like sweet notes. very full bodied, alcoholy, with a full, sweetish finish. i have a thought that the whiskey barrel aging added much of the attraction to this barley wine. this brew doesn’t really try ro hide the 11.5% abv.
michael-pollack (1378), King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA
Aug 21, 2008 275ml Bottle: Sweet aroma. Smells of malts, smoke, wood, honey, brown sugar, raisin, and whiskey. Poured amber with a slight copper hue in color and a small, fizzy, off-white head that disappeared. Cloudy. Full of small and medium-sized particles. Light to medium sweet flavor. Tastes of smoke, malts, honey, whiskey, tobacco, tar, and wood. Medium body. Thickish, oily texture. Soft carbonation. Smokey, sweet finish lingers. 11.5%ABV well hidden.
porterhouse (923), Alna, Maine, USA
Aug 21, 2008 (275 ml bottle (2005) from 1828 Vintage House) Pours cloudy, murky amber with lots of chunks floating around. Just barely a trace of a head. Aroma of nice Scotch, rock-candy malt sweetness, brown sugar, alcohol and perhaps wood. Mouthfeel is fairly smooth, soft but a bit loose. A little sticky on the back end. Not much carbonation. No real lacing, just a light syrupy film inside snifter. Flavor is sweet, malty and Scotchy. A sugar bomb for sure but I like what the barrel aging does in these two JW Lees BA versions I’ve had so far. It mellows out some of the high sweetness and alcohol of the original beer and lets more of the pure malt flavor along with whatever flavor is in the barrel really come through. This one has a mellow fine Scotch note along with candy malt, brown sugar and perhaps a bit of vanilla woodiness. Some alcohol presence but pretty well-integrated. Bittterness builds towards finish and gives a nice little hit. Flavor-wise this is almost on par with the Calvados but a bit less impressive on appearance and mouthfeel.
Angeloregon (1867), Portland, Oregon, USA
Aug 19, 2008 Small bottle from By the Bottle in Vancouver, WA--Poured a murky, hazed amber-copper with a thin wispy whitish head. Nose of sticky sweet smoky malts and whiskey heat. Doughy sticky, cloying body with some fruit and wood complexities. A real sipper. Not my favorite. Lots of sugars that became harder and harder to gut as the beer warmed up.
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