Lakefront Beer Line Barley Wine

little 6.3oz. bottle. bottle states 1987-1997 10th anniversary edition. not sure if it’s a 97 though. seems to be a lot of confusion. anyway,found it for $2.50 in IL on a clearance shelf. about an inch on the bottom of this tiny bottle was sediment. pours an amber/red with no head and no carbonation bubbles. looks pretty dead. malty caramel aroma with apple juice, licorice, herbal, and a faint hint of citrus. flavors of caramel, minty herbs, licorice. no sign of the alcohol. smooth palate.

Bottle... C&P’sLYFO Throwdown... Pours clear and amber with a small, white fat-bubbled head. The nose is odd – should smell like caramel, but comes across to me as a caramel and chicken broth blend. Full-bodied and a little syrupy with mild carbonation. Medium sherry, caramel malts and a touch of chocolate malt sweetness. Bittersweet, warming, very dry finish. Video = http://homepage.mac.com/maltajo/RATEBEER/iMovieTheater10.html

6.3oz. bottle, unknown vintage, but has been cellared for approximately 2 1/2 years. Sweet, almost candyish nose, with notes of caramel, toasted coconut, powdered sugar, maple, faintly herbal hop remnants and medicinal alcohol. Medium-dark amber color with a near to non-existent head, far from clear though I left as much of the sediment behind as possible and that turned out to be a good idea -- when poured it out, it had solidified to a frightening extent. Flavor is largely malt-oriented, plenty of darkly sugary sweetness throughout as well as hints of raisin and fading hop bitterness, finishing with suggestions of sherry and a moderate alcohol presence. Nearly still, warming and syrupy on the palate, body is certainly full. I found this interesting, ultimately.

<b><i>Millenium 2000 Special Edition</i></b>


<b>11/16/2008</b>: After reading through some of the reviews, I very carefully poured this beer and managed to get as clean as a pour as I believe possible. This beer looks like apricot-colored syrup while pouring and then has a ruddy, nearly opaque, walnut-colored appearance in the the glass. There is hardly any carbonation left at this point. Beer Line Barley Wine Style Ale has a sweet, caramelly, and highly alcohol-ladden aroma that is very much like a nice mead. Sweet, creamy caramel explodes in the flavor along with dates, well-aged fruit, lightly citrusy hops, and dried apricots. The alcohol is warming and not dominate in the flavor at all. It is nowhere near being astringent, rather it is very well integrated with the other flavors and carries brandy or cognac-like qualities. This full-bodied beer is smooth, creamy, and mellow. This beer has aged remarkably well and I don’t think that this beer can get any better. It is simply excellent right now!

<i>6.3 fl. oz./187 mL punted bottle (50 IBU, Unfiltered, 29° Plato) from Belmont Party Supply in Dayton, Ohio. Rating #113 for this beer...</i>

6oz. bottle. At least three years old, don’t know exactly. Pours nice dark brown, very little head. Nice malty smell,sweet candy taste, very smooth.

Bottled. Not as bad as I was expecting from previous reviews. Pours a murky tan colour with significant white sediment that doesn’t completely settle. Very basic barleywine with aroma and flavour of molassas and caramely malt. Simple but still enjoyable.

Nip bottle from CaptianCougar. Pours a light hazy apricot color with small head. The aroma was malty and sweet with light fruity notes. The taste was the same with faded citrus notes. Lingering light bitterness in the finish. Easy drinking BW.

I am very surprised by the low low scores of this. My bottle didn’t have any funkiness or astringency to it. Just a simple barleywine with some molasses and sweet characters throughout. A lot of chunks in the bottom of the bottle. An average barley wine to me, maybe a little on the low side.