Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

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

Clear reddish colour with a beige head. Malty, caramel sweet aroma with notes of fruit and vanilla. Caramel, fruity and alcohol sweet flavor with a light dry and sweet finish.

The Lure:
Grassy hops and creamy grapefruit are tickled by pine combs and black pepper. The approach is mostly hoppy, maybe because this 2004 vintage is still young.

The Festivities:
Resinous, grassy and citrusy hops blend well with candied fruit and earthy cereal. A creamy mouthfeel ensues, as brash hop bitterness nears chalkiness after a while. I prefer it to their Brown Shugga, slightly.

Transcendence:
Another competent staffer from Lagunitas, always original too, yet not quite exactly what I’m looking for.

Bottled. Burgundy coloured. Unclear. Dense light brown head. Sweetness, alcohol, prunes, spice and light dustyness in the aroma. Flavour is full of alcohol, prunes, ripe fruits, alcohol, spices, light caramel and sweetness. Medium to full bodied. Is good bitter in the end and has a pleasant burning on the lips in the late stages of the beer. Just my kind of beer, which I could drink again and again.

22 oz bomber of the 2004 version. 9.8% ABV. Ruby copper coloured beer, crystal clear with a thick yellow head that leaves a ring of sticky lace. Very sweet candyish, with orange aroma. Honey, biscuit malt, brown sugar. Flavour is very malty, cookies, biscuits, and bread with sweet caramel and orange peel. There is enough bitterness to round it off, but the hop aroma is subdued showing only a hint of spice. Well-balanced and easy-sipping barleywine, and a steal at this price. Nice warming finish.

Ruby red. Smoothing sweet aroma of plums and apples. The flavors are very creamy, like plum yogurt, and not very harsh at all. The cream feeling allows the alcohol to hide quite well, and the carbonation on the tongue and down the throat feels wonderful. Wood and fruit - pears, plums, apples and more - show up and satisfy.

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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Dark amber color with a lid of off-white bubbles. Mild flowery aromas mixed with mild caramel. Lots of flowery sweetness in the flavor profile. More caramel and light fruit come out as one continues. Hot alcohol really comes out and distract the deeper you get into this one. Straight forward strong barleywine.

Ruby mahogany color, patern lacing, thick head, moderate carbonation. Nose of molasses, hops & alcohol. A rich body with tons of sweetness & hops to balance to try to sway my palate to the high gravity dark side. It’s fairly balanced though with a burning bitter finish and a taste that keeps me coming back for more. Meh.<P>99’ Edition: Loses a lot of the sweetness (thank god) and is much more mellow, complex and smooth. I’ve heard this phenomena called the "ugly duckling syndrome".