Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

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

Bottled. Tasting @ Kolding Bryglaug. Aroma has caramel malts, toffee and hops. Clear, red amber coloured with an off-white, thin head. Taste is sweet, caramel/toffee malty with hopbitterness. Okay.

In short: A “refreshing” 11% barley wine with generous hopping and nice fruits notes. A classic.
How: Bottle 22oz. Consumed about 8 months after purchase
The look: cloudy golden brown body with a lot of small particles. Medium beige head with medium retention.
In long: Nose has a pleasant mix of refreshing fruity hops and caramel. Taste continues in this direction. Lots of juicy caramel, not toffee, no butterscotch, not whatever-is-sweet, this is pure juicy caramel. Relatively to the style (American Barley Wines) this one has more refreshing fruit flavours, citrus, oranges, pineapples, etc. A good amount of fruity hops here that really alleviate the heavily caramelized body makes This beer surprisingly drinkable. Too many American Barley wines go for the sugary-sweet thickness. This one is a classic example of how to make a not cloying very drinkable big Barley Wine. Relatively cheap, 11%, widely available and very good… AA’s worst enemy.

2003 vintage on tap at the Portland Barleywine Long Haul Tour. This barleywine really stands out due to the fruit quality in the malt, hints of apple and sweet cherry gave this brew a great personality and lots of depth amongst the sweet sugary caramel malts. Very well balanced with a smooth mouthfeel. Pours a lighter orange/brown, slightly hazy with a medium white head.

22. 07 cracked 07. A monument to impatience. Or, killing a baby. Pours a hazy garnet amber with a thick, sudsy tan head. Solid sedimentary webs of lace coming down the glass.
Big sugary nose with the usual maelstrom of complicated overlapping notes. Usual meaning good. This one has toffee, port, caramel, earthy/leafy hop pepper, and maybe a light tang of pitted tree fruit, cherryish.
Thick, velvety body with soft carb and very forward malt suger flavors. The toffee, port, caramel, earth, leaf, and pepper are joined by light hints of acetic tobacco and leather on the mid-palate.
Thick, sticky finish with fainter notes from the mid-palate and a little whiff of that peppery hop again. Very nice stuff, even under the harsh glare of an early opening.

Evenly colored with a deep amber. Lovely light-tan head with tight, clingy lace. Cookie dough nose is inviting. Incredible mouthfeel: silky smooth, thick, heavy and mildly carbonated; I got a real sense of accomplishment with every swallow. Complex malts, with notes of graham cracker, chocolate, wood, and soft caramel candy. Hops provide some fruity (hint of orange maybe, but mostly dark fruit) and grassy notes, too. Mild to moderate bitterness. For the most part, the alcohol is well-masked, but you occasionally get a little smack in the jaw -- and I'm sure this one's a creeper. At any rate, this is a VERY good barley wine.

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.

Nice hoppy and sweet aroma of toffee and dark fruits. Dark amber pour. More toffee and sweet dark malts with a nice fruity presence and a nice floral/peppery hop back. Smooth and creamy enjoyably awesome and incredibly balanced beer.

Yet another barleywine that falls into a category that I like to call a breakfast beer. This one has a nice woody, maple syrup like quality to it. The aroma is is slightly roasted and sweet while being extremely complex. Lots of flavors come out but mostly caramel and maple, with some cinnamon notes as well. Very smooth and mellow in the finish, tasty.