Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

Casked at Graydon’s Crossings. Very nice cask ages, developed some nice malty character that was a bit unexpected, nice hoppy aroma. All around a great beer in cask.

Bottled: Pours dark reddish brown with a small head. Sweet aroma of chocolate toffee. Flavour is quite sweet and has more chocolate toffe and perhaps a touch of dark currants. Finish is alcohol bitter and warming.

22oz bomber. Pours a clear dark copper tinted brown with a thin slightly off white head. Nose is sweet and bready with hints of caramel, apple, maple, brown sugar, vanilla and plum. Taste is pretty much all of that going on with some decent carb and a touch of some hops. Flavors are well blended and the only thing that jumps out is the yeasty bread notes...not necessarily a bad thing. The 11% is well hidden. Very worthy american barley wine and for the price, it pretty much kicks ass.

This beer is quite a staple in my low-end, "nothing new at the store" aresenal. A bomber of high ABV kickass barleywine for $4?!? And to think I was just about to buy a 6er of Busch. Ha. Amber pour. Thin white head. Fruit and caramel dominant all around. Toffee and brown sugar come through as well. Sticky. Excellent hops. Good example of everything I look for in a barleywine. Will continue supporting Lagunitas products.

Flaske: Flot mørk ravfarvet øl med et lækkert lille skumhoved. Kraftig duft af karamel og en anelse port. Stadig en del humle i smagen selv efter et års lagring men potentialet til mere lagring er der. Suveræn balance imellem den resterende humle og karamemalten. Dejlig øl.

Location: 22 oz bottle from Total Wine - Richmond, 7/14/09

Aroma: Smells of dark fruits, caramel, brown sugar, some nice hop notes.
Appearance: Mildly hazy reddish-copper, small creamy off-white head, lots of lacing on the glass.
Flavor: A really nice taste, complex and enjoyable, immediate taste is sweet and fruity, flowing nicely into caramel, and then a wonderful sweet hop backing finishes it off.
Palate: Really smooth for an 11% beer that somehow has no alcohol burn, really nice mouthfeel.
Overall Impression: I’m impressed! This was a very nice beer, it came at a reasonable price, and had a nice taste. Great job of making a big beer, giving it complex flavors, and hiding alcohol pretty well. Really nicely done beer by Lagunitas.

Pour: Amber, a little hazy, visible yeast. Small dense white head. Strong hops aroma, caramel and brown sugar. Dense, lively palate. Strong hops. Brown sugar and hops, mostly, alcohol is very well hidden.

I’m biased because I love Barley wine, but this is fantastic. It pours a rich copper with a delicious aroma and flavor of malt, toffee, brown sugar with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. A must for any barley wine afficianado.