Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

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

Twenty ’Aught-9. A very nice American-style barleywine, if a bit generic, when fresh. There are a ton of barleywines out there and it takes a lot to stand out from the crowd of good barleywines. Gnarlywine doesn’t quite make it into the arena of the great ones, but this is a fresh bottle and only time will tell where the beer will go as it matures. The beer pours a beautiful shade of red with a healthy off-white head that gives way to a pretty pattern of suds sitting atop the liquid and nice lacing. The aroma is mostly citric/piney hops and caramel-sweet, malty alcohol. The flavor has a pretty good hop bite, but it’s already backed off a bit in the months that I’ve had this bottle. The malt is strong without being too sticky and sweet. It’s a good barleywine that sticks to the middle of the road but does it well. It’ll be fun to see how it ages.

Classic BW -- not too sweet. Chewy mouth feel. Long finsh and after taste that can hang on to. Nice creamy off white head.

On tap. Pours a copper color. Smells of malt. Light head. Sweet with flavors of malt hops and caramel.

This bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a small sized head of foamy finely sized tan colored bubbles that were mostly lasting and left behind a transparent strongly carbonated brown colored body and thick foamy lacing. The mild aroma was malt hop. The semi-thick mouth feel was tingly at the start with a mellow finish. The balanced flavor contained notes of malt hops caramel and mildly vinous. Delicious and one I would certainly buy again.

mostly clear copper with a small fine tan head. sharp sweet malt is very up-front, with a hint of grass -- basically smells like a caramel apple. taste is similar, a hoppy caramel mess. it’s too thickly sweet -- i.e., cloying. but still good, leaving a sharp bittersweet finish. somehow body is almost thin, and carbonation is minimal.

poured thick, and golden, reminded me of a wiskey that had spent a week in the freezer.. the head was thick, creamy and yellowish. a sweet nose followed by a sweet initial taste with a strong alcohol flavor followed by a lingering bitterness. BarleyWine wasnt my thing, but I felt a need to give it a shot.

2008 On draft at Capital Ale House Downtown Richmond. Pours a beautiful burnt orange with fairly decent khaki head that has awesome lacing. Nose is sweet and herbal hops that come out more in the flavor. Raisins, brown sugar, piney hops, this is an amazing barlywine. No detectable alcohol on the nose or flavor, except for just the smallest enjoyable bit of warmaing sensation. Perfect moderately chewy palate, sticky sweet yet, not cloying at all. And such a reasonable price! Grade A brew!

Deep cloudy amber color. Aroma of sweet bread, raisins, a hint of alcohol. Nice strong aroma. Very sweet and strong flavor, well balanced. Just the right amount of hops. Very malty, medium-heavy bodied. Velvety smooth mouthfeel. Very nice.