Left Hand Widdershins

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

Thanks to axilla and hopdog for breaking open these bottles... axilla’s bottle was corked and said "bottle conditioned", while hopdog’s bottle made no mention of it and was a wax dipped capped bottle. Appears a hazy cloudy amber with an offwhite head that fades into a collar. Smell is of mild oxidation, caramel, and a smacking whiff of hops. Taste is of caramel, vanilla, hops, woody oak, and mild cherry. Mouthfeel is smooth but hot in the finish with abv present.

We tasted a 750ml bottle (from Axilla) and a 22oz, red waxed, bottle. Vintages unknown. Both were very close in aromas and tastes with the 750ml bottle showing some oxidation. Aromas of caramel, dark fruits, toffee, and citrus. Tastes of caramel, dark fruits, citrus and has a light woodiness to it. Light alcohol in the finish.

Poured a hazy orange brown color with a small, off white head that left some lacing on the glass. Aroma was a little oxidized, while still showing a decent hoppy profile, with some caramel, toffee, and light smoke, as well as citrus fruits, and alcohol. Taste of caramel malts, a tart citrus, dried fruits, with light roastiness, and more hops and alcohol in the finish.

Thanks to Axilla and Hopdog for opening up two different years of these. Pours a hazy golden amber with an average bubbly light tan head. Aroma of vanilla, caramel, toffee, dark fruits and some oxidation setting in on the 750 version. Flavor a little oxidized in the 750 also. Less oxidation in the waxed bomber. Still complex despite the oxidation. Flavor was very much along the same lines as the aroma.

2003 bottle. I must start by saying that I’m not real impressed by the wax covering over the cap on the bottle. Sure it looks great, but then you feel like a squirrel trying to open a really tough nut, banging about your kitchen and the like till finally, after way too much effort you’re in. Supposing you’re lucky enough to get here, things aren’t too promising. Color is a nice amber, with a very minimal head and a bit of lacing, but nothing to write home about. Aroma is of apple, alcohol and some other stuff that isn’t coming through clear enough for me to describe. Flavor is crisp, with a cognac-like quality, but even in a bottle that is three years old has a bit of an alcoholic bite to it.

Hazy warm amberish coloured beer with a light yellowish-beige froth. Aroma is soft with a mild caracter, it is vinous, has touches of very fine XO- cognac, but also hints of honey, bee-wax and exotic aromas of wood. The taste is rich and smooth. It has a nice fizziness that gives it an extra refreshing accent. The taste is untherbuild with hints of buttercaramels, crust of milkbread, sweet nuts, bread pudding with fine brown Jamaican Rhum, sutanas and figgs. In the finale there is a flowery and a soft herby hoppiness.

RIGHT. This IS a widdershins beer. Impossible to open, gushing over the table to a small, off-white, irregular head; and a hazy, orange-amber beer; Very inviting, vinous nose, malts, mild hops and citrus fruit. Alcohol too. Very dry, spicey (root spices as galanga,...) taste. Sweet cognad, with a lot of almondy flavours, not bitter; Cane sugar, my companions suggests. Well bodied, creamy MF. Well carbonated though not fizzy. Nice drinking beer (well - with a lot of moderation!) but it is well-rounded and balanced. A tad more hoppiness, however, would have been welcome.

Bottle, from trade with snowtiger, 2004 vintage. Good nose, sweet. honey, plum, orange, lite pepper, oak is ok (not overpowering). Poured 3 times. 1st pour was a clean browinsh orange, 2cd pour was hazy, 3rd had decent sediment. Small head that slowly faded with monor lacing. Bitter flavor. Citus, that burnt/grapefruit mix. Lite peatiness. didn’t notice the oak. Thick body, creamy oily mouthfeel, bitter sour finish. Tasty,worth seeking out. Huh, looking at other peoples notes I don’t see oak mentioned. I recycled the bottle was there a oak aged version???