Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

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

22 oz bottle. Copper color with slight white head that dissipates quickly. Aroma with malts and floral hop notes but no discernible alcohol. A very warming brew flavor starts off sweet, caramel with a little hop bitterness and citrus notes. Finish is a little sweet. A very nice barleywine.

Brandon, Fl. - Kingdom Liquors - 22 oz bomber. Medium copper pour, sticky khaki-colored head. Fresh, fragrant aroma, floral notes, sticky pine sap and cotton candy. Juicy flavor, fresh citrus, apricots, caramel, candied sugar and an underlying syrupy maltiness. Thick, sticky - in a good way - mouthfeel. Lagunitas delivers again.

One of the last Lagunitas beers to show up in Georgia, Olde GnarlyWine came in a Limited Release 22 oz. bomber. The copper colored body was hazy and alive with lots of carbonation streamers. The dense head was good looking at two fingers thick, and growing. The smell was indicative of the generous hopping rate used in the recipe. It was not a piney and bitingly resinous hoppyness in the nose like the Bigfoot I had just yesterday. Instead these were softer, citric, and somewhat earthy hops. The taste was quite a bit sweeter than what I was expecting from one of the big boys from the West Coast. The residual sugars from the wort were still pretty evident, and the spicy and earthy hops could not provide and equal match up. The fruity richness of drizzled pears, apricots, and peaches came in wave after luscious sticky wave. Quite a full mouthfeel with a tinge of sourness in the finish. Rich, rich, rich, but will perhaps prove too sweet for some people.

Beatiful ruby/brown pour with a creamy tan head. Sugary sweet aroma with a huge boquet of hops. Full bodied. There is a lot going on here in the flavor department. Dried, dark fruits. Brown sugar. Citrus, piney hops. Sweet malty finish. Alcohol is definitely in the house here, warming and strong. This is an excellent barley wine.

Very nice flavor and complexity. This is an exelent brew if you like Barley Wine Style Ale.

This is a beautiful beer. I gave the appearance a "5" because the mahogany color absolutely made my mouth water. The flavor and mouthfeel live up to the visual expectation. This yummy beer just made my morning.

2008 bomber. rich coppery amber pour with a fluffy light khaki head. initial floral citrus aroma is followed by pine, orange and some other fruit (pineapple or over ripe mango maybe?) and sweet caramel cereal type grain. the palate is surprisingly not overly sweet. of course the caramel and malt are up front but they are combined with pine, grassy, citrus and earthy hops to keep everything in balance. some of that over ripe fruit shows back up along with orange and some spices. there’s a piney/alcohol/spicy burn on the finish. medium bodied for the style. a bitter dryness cuts through the sugar to keep it drinkable. very basic and delicious.

On tap at the Draught House in Austin. Formed a thin tan "head" (if that’s what you want to call it) in the short snifter glass. Malty aroma. Taste caught me off guard, not expecting it to be so (wonderfully) hoppy. But the sweet flavors made the bitter quite comfortable. I tried this right after the Left Hand Oak Aged Widdershins barley wine with no real cleansing of palate between the two, so I’m not sure I allowed this one to impress me completely. Loved this - probably one of my favorite bitter barley wines. Warmed the soul...