Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

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

Pours a clear ruby copper with a moderate tan head, lasting pretty long. Aroma is fairly subtle, but otherwise what I expect: prominant citrus (orange) hops, caramel, brown sugar, and maybe something that reminds me of a raspberry-flavored (or other dark fruit) vodka. Much more pleasing flavor with prominant brown sugar, sweet doughy bread, caramel, flowery, almost orange juice-like bitter hop flavor, and some butterscotch. Finish evolves to a nice well rounded bitterness with a sort of "burnt lavender" mix of hop characteristics that I find strange. That odd finish seems to happen fairly often with Lagunitas beers. Very drinkable overall though, creamy mouthfeel and very well rounded. Don’t let it sit out too long though, that alcohol burns when it’s warm.

Dark amber ruby, slight haze. Dissapating, slightly persisting head and lace. Big nose of caramel, fat malts, overripe fruit, candy. Full body, creamy, rich, sweet, caramelly malts, fruit/candy notes, hops try to interrupt to balance and do a bit in the end but this is a big multilayered malt feast. Drinks very well, they nailed the carbonation, making the palette perfect for me, gives it vibrancy, addictivness. Good BW. Memorable.

bomber. a very solid barley wine.... did not blow me away, but solid nonetheless. And at a price of $3.50 / bomber you really can’t beat it... obviously not as good as the top BW’s out there - but they will cost you 4x as much / bottle. pours a deep red / amber with very little head. some spice and sweet malts in the aroma. medium hop presence from the start to finish - but balances the malts extremely well. sweet finish - the sugars really shine through. Overall a solid BW that drinks very well and almost too easily... will knock you on your butt with its near 10% abv.... go buy some when its out.

Pours a clear amber/red. Really clear for a barley wine. It smells of citrus hops and a little malt. There are a lot of hops in this one. But they go well with the malt. I can’t wait to taste this batch next year.

Dark redish amber colour, with a thick yellow head. Hoppy nose with hints of almond. Rounded flavour, great bitterness. Slight alcoholic. Fruity, citric, acidic flavour. Sticky mouthfeel. Excellent palate. Medium to full bodied.

Bottle as shown. Pours a clear copper amber color with a medium frothy light tan head. The aroma is raisin and brown sugar. Decent lacing on the glass. The taste is a sweet malt and fruit. Hides the alcohol well and easy to drink. An impressive barley wine from Lagunitas.

22oz bottle. Pours a clear, but very dark red, almost brown body. Creamy, finger-width, light brown head that dissipates slowly and leaves a good amount of lacing. Looks very syrupy and thick. Aroma is heavily malted. Lots of berry fruits and caramel. Big raisin and plum smells with some brown sugar and a hint of citrusy hoppiness in the background. Flavor is very similar to the aroma. Deliciously and heavily malted. Very sweet. Raisons and plums, again. Lightly spiced and an underlying citrus hop balance. Slightly boozy, but not as warming as some other barley wines. Palate is full bodied, smooth, and oily. Sweet malty and light bitter linger. Overall, a nice sipper and an excellent beer. Its not the best barley wine out there, but it certainly is far from the worst. Good stuff.

22oz. Pours deep red with a small but sturdy off white head. Aroma is a nice blend of strong malts with a spicy hop presence. Caramel, vanilla, and just a touch of alcohol. Taste is nice, smooth, slightly bitter, malty. For a semi-fresh BW this tastes pretty balanced and smooth. I could see this aging well but it is drinking pretty great right now.