Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

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

On tap, nice amber/ copper tone, sweet malty aroma. Flavor was caramel malt, and a bit too medicine like. A touch of caramel, and a strong alcohol flavor. The chalk board at the pub claimed 11%, and it seemed about right. Not bad, but I would prefer many other BW’s.

Bottled. A hazy dark amber beer with a fast disappearing tan head. The aroma is sweet with powerful notes of caramel, but also lighter notes of malt. The flavor is sweet malty with powerful notes of caramel as well as lighter notes of alcohol, leading to a dry bitter caramel finish. The body is thick - somewhat like drinking caramel soup - if that exists.

Dark red with a small lacy tan head. Sweet and strong. Raisins in the nose and plums in flavor. Nice bitterness for an american Barley Wine (style ale).

22oz Bomber
Deep reddish amber color with no head. This was a deep malt nose and some strong dried fruity aromas. The flavor was that of a Barley win made for the gods of brewing. A great flavor in this 2007 batch. This will be a great beer in the years. Has some great after taste and the underlying spices and mild yeasts where awesome.

Nearly clear reddish brown, moderate head with good lacing and retention. Aroma is fairly fruity with notes of citrus, grapefruit and peach. Malt is mostly caramel with sugary notes as well, like most of their beers. Vanilla and alcohol sneak in at the end. Fairly sweet with some warming. Enjoyable but didn’t come off as a 3.9 range BW.

Sweet currant/sherry aroma with spicy pine, solid 2 finger head lasts a bit and holds its shape, deep ruby color. Plenty of flavor, not all of it married yet. Oak, plum, and the sharp sting of alcohol all coexist and if I could lay a few down I’m sure they’d blend together great.

These big, hot, sherry-like beers are an acquired taste for sure. Luckily, thanks in part to a few great offerings from Lagunitas, I have acquired the taste. This one is definitely big, you can taste the alcohol, but the sherry-like notes are predominant in the malt profile. Draught at Circa in High Bridge, NJ 9/1/07. A snifter full of this hot, heady brew after given time to uncool down to 55 or 52 degrees will either put you in a haze or break you out of one.

Date: September 12, 1998
Mode: Bottle
Source: Beverages & More, SF
Vintage: 1999
Appearance: opaque copper, whispy head
Aroma: no notes on the aroma
Body: big body
Flavor: strong malt flavor with lots of floral hops, lots of malt, abusive hop flavor, long bitter finish
Overall: very crusty-like

Date: October 15, 2000
Vintage: 1999
what a difference a couple of years makes! very wine like, no hops, no alcoholic esters, slightly sweet, malty, very smooth

Date: November 17, 2004
Vintage: 1999
Appearance: sweet malty aroma
Aroma: flavor has the same sweet malt from the aroma but with a long bitter finish
Overall: not enough complexity or fruity character for the age, good but time to liquidate the vintage

Date: November 11, 2005
Vintage: 1999
sweet and malty, still no good aged malt ripe fruit, nice bitterness, holding up but not improving any more as it ages

Date: February 01, 2007
Source: Ale Atlanta
Vintage: 1999
still the brown sugar sweetness, picking up a bit of oxidation

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+/4

Date: August 26, 2006
Vintage: 2006
sweet malt with big earthy bitterness,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+/4

Date: October 29, 2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 2008
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