Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

on cask at the Night of the Living Ales IV, this one really surprised me and actually blew me away. wonderful fruity hop aroma and flavor, alcohol hidden really well, this tasted extremely fresh and was extremely drinkable. now i need to re-rate a fresh bottle. 4.2.

4/08/08, 2008 vintage, very fresh sample. pours cleary ruby with creamy off white head. aroma with alcohol, nail polish remover, grapefruit and red fruit hop aroma. flavors have a sweet malt base, a bit alcohol in flavor but not hot, hopped up too, very fruity hop flavors. could use some more bitterness but with the sticky body this resembles an american barleywine very well. pretty good stuff but not as great as the cask sample i recently had. 3.9.

22oz bottle. 2008 vintage, aged about 14 months. pours caramel color with off white head. nose of caramelized malts, honey, nuts. flavors are very caramelly, piney hop notes, nutty finish. the hops have faded in the aroma but are still noticed in the flavor. enjoyed this 1 yr old bottle. 3.9.

From the cask at Night of the Living Ales in Chicago. This was one of my favorite beers of the night. Aroma of dark fruits and spice. Hides the 9.7% alcohol very well. Nice malt flavor and it is well balanced. I need to get some bottles of this.

Decent barleywine. Can taste the alcohol but amazingly drinkable. Great given the price. A worthwhile experiment and another solid entry from Lagunitas

Amber in color and after pouring only some light lacing remains. The nose gives off scents of raisens, black cherry, light caramel and spice. In the mouth it is medium to full-bodied with a rich and oily mouthfeel. While there are still flavors of raisens the beer shows a very nice freshness and lightness. Really a quite nice barleywine.

Bomber. Pours copper w 1/2 inch tan head. Smells of brown suger, spices and dark fruits. Taste is sweet fruits with hops, caramels and brown suger. Mouthfeel is thin which suprised me. Finsihes with alcohol coming through and a bitter aftertaste. Pretty damn good.

This pours a deep, clear amber body. Initially it has a modest ecru head, but that soon fades away. The aroma has a light fruitiness (apple & cherry) with a dusty caramel sweetness, plenty of alcohol, and a bit of an earthy hoppy bite. Very smooth, yet warm on the tongue. The flavor isn’t cpmplex, having tastes reflecting the aroma, but they’re blended together nicely into a warming sweet drink with just enough bitterness to balance it out. The finish is hot and sticky. Pretty decent.

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On tap at the Mad Mex in Cranberry. Gnarly, my description exactly. Good example of a crude rude, high alky style. Aren’t all barley wines gnarly? I’m not good enough for this beer. Could not finish the glass. Syrupy terrible viscous liquid. Just like any other Lagunitas I’ve tasted, over the top.

Fruitiness dominates the aroma, followed by spicy hops, and finally a good malt backbone. Hazy amber color, acceptable head for a barley wine. As with the aroma, the flavor presents itself in layers - sweet at first, followed by moderate fruitiness, spicy citrusy hops, and then it finishes dry and bitter. This is a potent beer - a tongue scorcher, being both intensely sweet and bitter at the same time. Very nice.