Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

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

Snifter served at Lunar Brewing. A deep amber/ruby color, with a foamy,off white, diminishing head and clingy lacing. The aroma is definitely malty, sweet citrus, and a touch of floral. The flavor again is malty, now with a medium hop bitterness to mellow the sweet fruit and caramel notes. The alcohol needs no introduction!

11 oz. draft at the Galway Tribes (Frankfort, IL). Poured a deep dark caramelized brown with some darker notes, a tan prominent head that stuck around and laced extremely well. Initial aromas were more vague than expected, with a nice sweet malty feel and some smaller bitter hop notes. Initial taste is full of intense English sweet malts. A fairly heavy body that is very enjoyable, the large malty sweetness being new to me in my first entrance into the realm of barleywines. Some fruitiness and some honey sweetness enter as the malt really provides the show here. Still, I’m very happy with this brew.

Poured from bomber. Pours a hazelnut-and-ruby-red color with an attractive creamy tan head. Beautiful pour! Nutty aroma, with a sizeable helping of flowery hops. Flavor is full-bodied and vibrant, and carbonation is tastefully subdued. I tasted walnut, dark fruit, light caramel, wood. I keep sensing traces of milk chocolate as well. Very, very tasty. Finishes with a warming touch, probably the well-hidden alcohol. If I were to have one minor complaint, I would say the body is a touch thin. But overall, this is absolutely delicious. Olde Gnarly Wine is simultaneously a great intro into the world of big beers for newbies, as well as a very satisfying beer for BW-style junkies.

Pours a nice copper color with 2 fingers of white head. Aroma of malt, fruits, sugar, hops and citrus. Taste of Fruit, malt, sugar, hops all come together fairly well in this one with a nice sweet finish. Pretty gnarly brew. ;) For the price I’m not complaining.

aroma is very citrusy, VERY pineappely. really nice cirtus/evergreen flavor. really drinkable. abv is nicely hidden.

A beautiful clear red-amber color with a small orangy-white head that doesn’t last. A bit light in color for a BW. Wow, what an aroma. Real full malty smell with roast notes, a bit of caramel sweetness, and finishes with floral hops. The flavor doesn’t quite back it up, but is still nice. Lots of hop bitterness stands out, but the malt backbone is there along with some alcohol warmth. Bitter finish.

bomber from grape & gourmet, 2008 bottling, reads 9.7% abv. pours a beautiful, slightly syrupy, dark amber with a touch of red and a thin, off-white head and minimal lacing. aroma is huge, sweet malts, pumpernickle bread, brown sugar, dark apple cider, fig, yellow raisin, and a hint of piney, earthy hops. flavor is delicious as well with huge malt and brown sugar sweetness but there is a lovely balance provided by light citrus hops, green apple notes, and dried fruits. finish is sweet as well with some notes of honey and cinnamon. palate is big, full bodied, and sticky in a good way with a touch of alcohol on the swallow. overall, another very solid big beer from lagunitas.

22 0z. bottle, red amber color, green grape and grapefruit nose, very hoppy with a caramel and fruit bite, very smooth for this abv, I’m out to get some more