Lakefront Beer Line Barley Wine

Formerly brewed at Lakefront Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA

Date: 12/01/2004
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

hazy burnt orange, scant head, sweet yet hoppy aroma with a touch of yeasty esters, light malt flavor followed by a very long hoppy then bitter finish, well balanced, lots of complex lingering hops, not a typical barleywine but quite tasty
-------- /> Date: 01/21/2005
Score: iii to ii

does not hold up as well in a full bottle as it does in the sample, becomes typical

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.8/5.0
Score: *4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

(6.3oz bottle, Millennium 2000 vintage, thanks Barry) Yeast-filled murky bown body with off-white head. Aroma is moderately sweet, caramel, plum, molasses, port, light wood. Taste is sweet, caramel/butterscotch, molasses/syrup, plum/raisin, honey, alcohol/brandy. Full body with low carbonation. This gets all the basics down pat, but it needs something else to bring it up to excellence. Perhaps tone down the sweetness and alcohol presence, and bring up the hops. Of course, the hops probably have mellowed substantially since 2000.

6.3oz bottle acquire in trade ughsmash (thanks!). Millennium (2000) vintage. Poured a deep and cloudy amber color with a smaller sized off white head. Bunch of larger floaters. Aromas of caramel, a little earthy, and some dark fruits lurking in the background. Tastes of caramel, light vanilla, and dark fruits. Light alcohol in the finish. Some lacing left on the glass. This one aged well and am surprised that the overall rating is so low.

(6.3 fl. oz. bottle) Pours a lightly cloudy and particulate amber body with an average off-white head. Malty aroma with brown sugar, oak, and alcohol. Flavor of caramel, alcohol, raisins, and spicy fruit cake.

Rerate: 2002/Millenium Edition - Light strawberry aroma and flavor. Slightly sweet and mellow. Not your typical barleywine, but very drinkable and hides its alcohol well. 1999 Vintage - Strong sweet, malty, alcoholic aroma. Absolutely no head even with a vigorous pour. A rather large chunk of yeast sediment fell to the bottom of my glass, but I don't mind. Reminds me a lot of a vintage English strong ale. Caramel malty notes with a touch of sourness and an oily palate. This is very mellow for being 10% ABV. Smooth and complex and one of Lakefront's best offerings. The 7 oz. bottle is cute, but restricting.

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/iMovieThe

My tongue is frozen on a metal post...An idiot throws some alcohol on me to supposedly dislodge my poor appendage...Luckily, the post doesn't taste much : faint chemistry lab, mute caramel, devoid of any assertive flavor and aroma...Someone passes behind me with an orange I think...Is it me or spending half an hour with frostbite not that appealing?

Kind of a disappointment, because I like most of what I’ve had from Lakefront to date. You know a brew’s in trouble when all they can come up with for a description is, "Copper in color, Beer line is the first organic barley wine brewed in the United States." Well, to quote Jorma Kaukonen, "I don’t care if there’s preservatives in it, as long as my lettuce is crisp." It poured a headless, hazy amber with scary looking, large particles floating about. The aroma is a sharp malt, whiskey-like in nature, with heavy alcohol fumes. The flavor is alcohol with some sweet malt tossed in. The finish is a low alcohol burn. Not very interesting. I did like the cute little 6.3 oz bottle.

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