Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

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

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.

Mmmmm Mmmm delicous. Pour a real purty red-gold pour with very minimal slightly bubbly head. Nose big on heavy malt with lots of sugary sweetness. Dark fruits mixed in as well as a few of the lighter ones as well. Raisin and prune swirl around with a great caramelly mix. Flavorwise it was a true treat. Cherries mixed with all the forementioned aromas with a big but delightful alcohol presence.

On tap at Cato’s in Oakland, CA. It was served up in a half pint glass (due to its gravity). It pours a clear striking amber with lasting off white foam ring. The aroma comes across as complex. I seem to be smelling wood and shrubbery. Tough to pin down. I get pale malts (of all things), caramelized malts and faint toffee. Smooth and melded aroma. The flavor is malty and fruity from a mixture of cherries, sweet dark grapes, a mild raisin note, prunes and sugar coated plums. Just like the aroma the flavors seem smooth and melded even as the beer’s temperature runs up toward room ambient.