Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

22oz. Pours deep red with a small but sturdy off white head. Aroma is a nice blend of strong malts with a spicy hop presence. Caramel, vanilla, and just a touch of alcohol. Taste is nice, smooth, slightly bitter, malty. For a semi-fresh BW this tastes pretty balanced and smooth. I could see this aging well but it is drinking pretty great right now.

Bottle from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville. Pours ruby red with a small head that doesn’t stick around. Aroma of nicely balanced hops and caramelly malt. Same applies to the taste. Hop bitterness, pine, lemon, brown sugar, caramel. Nice, chewy mouthfeel. Yum!

Bomber. Clear orange with a medium head; nice lacing. Aroma of pine and citrus hops, pineapple, caramel and sweet cherries. A bit warm, but nicely drinkable for the high ABV. Mostly sweet with a slightly bitter/grape-skin finish. I’m always amazed at the number of good beers that Lagunitas puts out at bargain prices. Here’s another one.

aroma is very citrusy, VERY pineappely. really nice cirtus/evergreen flavor. really drinkable. abv is nicely hidden.

22 oz. bomber. Pours a bright and clear garnet color with crimson highlights. Initial pour forms a thick and creamy beige head with fairly strong retention. No lacing observed. Nicely balanced aroma profile noted on first sniff between the malts and hops. There is a very fruity nose to this barleywine noted right upfront. However, as with a few of the other Lagunitas brews I’ve sampled ( Brown Shugga and Hairy Eyeball come to mind) there eems to be a faint, distracting, slightly off background smell of over-ripe fruits. A mild citrusy, spicy hop aroma nicely comes through to balance the sweet caramel candy, ripe fruit and chocolate malt-ball nose. Mouthfeel was quite big and chewy with a slightly oily texture. Taste profile was also very well balanced starting off with immediate sweet flavors of caramelized brown sugar, Grape Nuts cereal, red apple, toffee and some molasses. This quickly transcends into a firm grapefruit rind and herbal-like hop bitterness which nicely balances this big, rich BW out in the finish. Definitely a sipper as the 9.7% has a notable warmth. At $3.79/bomber this is an exceptional deal on a very tasty BW.

My first barley wine. I found it very rick, with flavors that seemed to remind me of maple syrup or caramel, I cant quite place my finger on it. I loved it though.

On tap at Kelly’s. Hazy caramel, off white head. Aroma is port, fruit, malt, graham cracker. Flavor is the same and the alcohol is well hidden.

amber/cherry colored beer with a large yellowish head. hoppy aroma of mandarin orange. flavor is sweet with orange hops and maybe a touch of vanilla. palate is medium bodied and sticky. again, a very fine brew from lagunitas but it doesn’t really stray far from their standard style. i feel like i had the same beer 10 times.