Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

Deep copper brown with a good sized beige head. Aroma is of toffee, malt, fruit and hops. Taste is of fruit, hops, caramel, toffee, and alcohol.

On tap at Toronado for Barleywine fest ’09. A really nice offering that won last year. Reddish-amber color with off-white head. Aroma of sweet malt, bourbon, and piney hops. Flavor is caramel malt, brown sugar, bourbon, honey, and piney west coast hop bitterness. Somewhat syrupy mouthfeel.

From 2008 bomber, pours ruby-hued amber, no head. Sweet dark fruit aroma and flavor, with malt and mruky dark fruit flavors, fullness in body some hoppiness to finish.

Snifter served at Lunar Brewing. A deep amber/ruby color, with a foamy,off white, diminishing head and clingy lacing. The aroma is definitely malty, sweet citrus, and a touch of floral. The flavor again is malty, now with a medium hop bitterness to mellow the sweet fruit and caramel notes. The alcohol needs no introduction!

2006 bottle from....Shigadeyo maybe? Pours a very nice copper with an off white head. Aroma of sugary malts, alcohol, berry, and wine. Medium bodied with some slight syrupyness to the texture. Flavor of caramel and raisin countered with some muted, but still bitter hops. Some vineous qualities as well. Finish is warming but with an overwhelming amount yeast and dust. For a barleywine, this not aging well nor bad. However, I suspect this is past it’s prime. The fading hops are not leaving enough of an interesting malt profile to mix with the alcohol.

Draught: A cloudy amber color with a thin tan head. Smells of hops, citris, and a hint of raisins and coffee. Tasts of bitter hops with a smooth aftertaste which masks the alcohol. Definitly catches you off guard, but a definite well crafted brew, kudos.

No doubt about it, this is one mighty fine barleywine. Spot on for the style and rather similar to a year old SN Bigfoot. Clear amber/copper color, thin off white head and plenty of good lacing. Underlying grainy aroma with a robust sweetness of rich, hearty malts. Sugary plums, thick toffee, and floral/perfume like hop scents. A thick, smooth sipping beer. Sweet and mildly bittering with a great finish and prolonged aftertaste. Flavorful with a mixture of burnt toast, raisins, toffee, bitter flowers and dark cherries. A touch of pine along with a woody, fibrous taste. An overall mellow blend of aromas and flavors that tickle the senses. I liked this one a lot, it really is what I look forward to in a well crafted barleywine.

[Sampled in Gråsten.] Barley look with beige head. Notes of fat caramel, true malty aroma, some peppers, fruits , whisky, nice and wellbalanced. An okay replacement for Old Foghorn!