Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

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

22 oz bottle. Poured somewhere between amber and copper with a tan head that was gone quickly leaving nice lacing. Nose was fruity and somewhat piny. Really rich on the tongue, and it hides the alcohol well. Flavor of caramel and chocolate. Somewhat sweet but not objectionably so. Almost like drinking a liqueur. Wonderfully executed Barley Wine. Update: Recently drank a 2006 bottle (aged two years in my cellar) This seems to have gotten even better. Great stuff.

(bottle, 2009) Clear, dark amber with wispy head. Interesting aroma is sweet and tart with notes of grape, strawberry, cherry, and pepper. Very full bodied and moderately carbonated, sticky mouthfeel. Flavor made of warming alcohol, candied fruit, and pepper and other spice.

it should be news to very few that this brew would have a wonderful fragrant and inticing taste profile. i mean where do you consistantly find a better malt character in any brewer. slick velvet and candy sweet with everything you want in a malt brew and more. so well balanced and my bottle had zero broomstraw attitude. just superfresh and clean tasting aged malt. alcohol taste that doesnt bother. pleased and still slightly surprised that ths hop character is a little mute. but again we do have a wonderfully complex and tasty brew with find body very good balance and fine sipping warmth even on a warm day.

22 oz. bomber, pours a deep red-amber with a massive frothy tan head with good retention and lacing. Aroma is all piney hops on the pour with layers of toasty biscuity malts, caramel, and toffee coming later. Fruity esters are a bit subdued but include prunes and plums and some raisin. Flavor is nicely balanced, but dominated by the toasty malts with piney hops providing balance into a moderately dry finish. The body is medium to medium-full; smooth, with moderate carbonation and a perfect amount of warming. Overall, an excellent barleywine. Extrordinarily drinkable, as it balances a bit to the thin side, though still supportive of a relatively high ABV and full flavors.

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.

This stuff was pretty gnarly. Aroma is pretty hoppy, pleasent. Pours a dark amber. Flavor is nice, complex, hits sweet, malty caramel, nice hoppy finish. Pretty full body, hides alcohol well. Nice beer overall. If I find it again, I will gladly drink it.

22 oz- yummmmmmm. Purplish red hues. Nutty malt flavor, with a nice smooth high bitterness. So flavorful- so reasonably priced. Delicious.

Bottle, 2007 vintage. Pours crimson copper with thick beige head, good retention and quite a bit of lacing. Aroma is pungent brown sugar, toffee mead, sticky dried fruit, toasted malt and a very light touch of sourness. Flavor is solid, lightly sweet toffee, caramel malt flavors, deep in the backround a touch of well blended floral and even some citrus hops. Finish is a little bit of herbal bitterness and lingering alcohol. Extremely well-balanced, rich and indulgent. Tasty enough to drink on a regular basis.