Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

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

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.

My first barley wine, and very unlike what I expected of one based on the name. Bomber into pint glass. Aroma dominated by piney, resin hops with undertones of slightly earthy dough and subtle oak/nut hints. Of course, port and alcohol aromas were involved. Pours a rich dark amber with a fluffy off-white / light-brown head that lasts pretty well. Its body is clear with soft carbonation (apparent but slow, steady, and not overwhelming). Nose is dominated by pine hops. As the beer warms, strong flavors of oak, port, sherry, maple syrup come out. It has a long finish dominated by warming alcohol (port-like) but it is not intrusive but rather long and mellow. The body is much thicker than I expected (medium to full body) with an oily texture. I don;t like sweet beers, but this beer has a strong but very pleasant sweetness that works well with the hops; it has a definite, but still ironically subtle, presence that lacks the overbearing and nauseating effect of most other sweet beers on me. If you see it buy it. Should be fairly cheap... REALLY cheap for the quality.

2008 bottle? Pours a nearly flat, blood red color with clarity and an off-white, fairly small, frothy head which is mostly diminishing and leaves minimal lace. Nose is simple, a bit sherry-ish and surprisingly likable; cherry candy, raisins, pine resins, light grapefruit, light bready notes, and mild alcohol warmth. Flavor is warm and candy sweet; dried apricots, light maple, sweet breads, light grapefruit, dry pine resins, and some floral notes that creep in. Palate is full and viscous, lively, and velvety, almost syrupy. Finishes long, a bit dry, and mostly sweet with dried fruit notes, lingering candy, resins, and a moderate warmth. A pretty decent BW with all parts fitting together well, but the over-the-top sweet BW’s are not really my style. Plenty of warmth in this one so I’m sure it will calm down and grow in complexity with some time in the cellar but it doesn’t have the high hop content I find preferable in the style. A nice beer from a great brewery.