Left Hand Oak Aged Widdershins

Brewed by Left Hand Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Longmont, Colorado USA

Bottle. 2007 Vintage. Poured a clear dark orange color. The head was tall and yellowish with good retention. Vinous nose with plenty of toffee, dark fruit, and earthy hop smells. Medium bodied and fairly effervescent. Slightly sweet with mild bitterness and a bit of raw alcohol. Not much oak flavor to speak of, but there were nicely balanced caramel, orange zest, toffee, and pine notes. There was also a hint of tobacco. Tasty. Very tasty. Hoppier than I had anticipated.

In short: A boozy, woody, fruity, juicy and very caramelized strong brew. Not bad but below average for the style.
How: Bottle 750ml corked and caged. 2004 vintage! (found it at the bottom of my cellar)
The look: Partly cloudy golden copper topped by a small beige head
In long: Nose woody caramel. Taste is woody caramel, citrus fruits, a little orange note. I can feel the beer is extra-sweet yet something about its woody character dries it out enough to make it drinkable. A touch of vanilla. Alcohol too much apparent. I cannot pick any problem but the overall sensation was that of a very simplistic boozy sweet ale. Despite this bottle being a 2004 vintage consumed in 2009 the beer didn’t feel old at all, no oxidation, no cardboard, no maderisation. Not very good by any means, but not bad either. I’ve had worse, a lot worse. It is boozy and very simple yet I drank a full 750ml without considering a drain pour or donating money to the poor. Which means the beer is not too bad and I was feeling normal.

Reddish pour with off white head that leaves a ring around the glass. Aroma of smoke, oak, some vanilla and caramel coming out as it gets a bit warmer. Some nice fruit flavors with lots of smoke and oak. Fairly light mouthfeel for a barleywine, with a lot of carbonation for the style. Very dry, abrupt, oaky finish. Glad i got this on sale. The oak character is strange and overpowering.

Hazy amber with a lasting off-white head. Aroma of Cascade hops, lots of citrus. Lots of malt too. Flavour is rather dry malty. There is a touch of orange, and some munich-like maltiness. Quite dry for an American barleywine

Cloudy orange with a small off white head. Aroma of caramel, oak, brandy, citrus, alcohol – very malty. Body is fairly balanced with plenty of caramel malt, fruit, brown sugar, oak and hops. The barrel aged flavor in this one was pretty interesting, can’t quite put my finger on it. Solid barley wine.

Dark brownish amber with a thin off-white head. Big oak nose. Flavor is very sweet: sugary malt and wood. The oak is really overpowering. Still, a pretty nice beer.

A 2007 750ml bottle that was the toughest champagne style cork I have ever removed. I ended up tearing the top half of the cork off and taking out the rest with a corkscrew. My arms are tired after much wasted effort. Hazy dark orange colored body with a little amber when shown to light. The long lasting head was medium khaki. The nose is like oranges and green wood. There is also some hint of band aid. The taste has lots of oak and a little bit of orange peel. The finish is strong nasty band aid. Even if it didn’t have the off flavor, it would be a weak entry.

2007 bottle. Pours a cloudy amber with a medium frothy light tan head that lasts awhile leaving behind good sticky lacing along the glass. The aroma is a fruity hops with caramel and oak. Medium mouthfeel with a dry hop with brown sugar, apple, oak and a light bitter finish. Hides the alcohol well making it easy to drink. A good barley wine from Left hand