Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Petaluma, California USA

2007 bottle courtesy of markwise. Pours a generally clear amber brown color with a thin white head. Aroma is sweet and floral with notes of caramel, malt, honey, some ripe dark fruits like raisins and plums. Flavor is also sweet and malty with notes of brown sugar, caramel, honey, some faint floral hops and light spice. Generally medium body with a slightly boozy finish. This beer has aged well.

Reviewed 4/9/2009 (Draft at Flying Saucer, Houston, TX): Pours a strong red color body. Small off-white body, diminishing. Raisin and fig, sickly sweet aroma. This is a barley wine. Sickly sweet taste. Alcohol, sticky sweetness. Strong grape taste. Some roasted notes but mostly sweet. Too much. This needs to age for a long while more, have the sweetness go down.

22 oz bottle. Pours a beautiful clear amber with a deep red tinit with a small head. Malt nose with some hints of citrus. Dark fruit and citrus comes through on the palate. It is also sweet with notes of earthy notes. Sticky mouthfeel and slight alcohol warming, surprising considering it comes in at 11%. Remarkably easy to drink.

Pours an amber-red color with medium carbonation and a thick 1-inch white head. Aroma is quite musty, some mild malt notes with a slight apricot and a light citrus and earthy hops hints. Flavor starts off with an earthy flavor, light malt with a caramel note background. Middle of the tasting is light citrus and a nice bitter bite which ends with some warm alcohol feeling. Flavor is far different from most barley wines making it a pretty unique flavor when compared to others of this style. Beers density is pretty heavy with almost a sugary feeling to it. Overall it’s not a bad beer by any means but definitely far from my favorite for this style.

courtesy of markwise. Thanks for this amazing gem. early 08 bottle. Pours copper with beige head, nice golden lacing. Aroma had the typical Lagunitas signature, strong notes of caramel malts. Taste, some hops, really malty with some caramel and faint brown sugar.

22oz. bomber pours copper red, big sweet fruit in the nose, big malt flavor hops a close second which is preferably in a barley wine. lively mouthfeel, good carbonation, slight bittersweet aftertaste. A good barleywine and a good bargain (22oz @ 3.99). Big alcohol but fairly well hidden. Nice brew

Coldwater, slightly fishy, rich APA aroma. Pretty good label on the bomber, appearance ding for the twistoff, standard, clear AIPA red-brown. Mouthy, viscous - you can see it in the pour, it has a gelled look to it as you fill the glass. Discombobulated flavor, over-the-top AIPA. Sweet, doughy, woody, huge hops. PIne sol finish, which goes on way too long. A big, clumsy, ham-handed brew. Market Square Liquors.

A dark brown very opaque pour with a minimal light tan head despite an aggressive pour. A delightfully complex fruity aroma. Flavor has plenty of alcohol with dark fruit and yeast. Very big and quite nice. The flavor stays steady throughout. Very nice! They were not kidding about that ABV, either. What a good barley wine!