Left Hand Widdershins

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

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???

This was cheery orange with little lasting head but adequate carbonation. The nice toasty malt unfortunately contrasted with the noticeable alcohol. Also present were some tinges of woodiness (nutshells?) and some apricot/orange. If only this were a bit smoother and thicker.

22oz. wax-sealed bottle, 2003 vintage. Pleasantly fruity, sweet and malty aroma, a fair amount of complexity to be found with emergent notes of pear, red grape, orange, dark berry, light brown sugar, bubblegum and dry leaves along with suggestions of pineapple, grapefruit, cake and some very light herbal tones and earthiness in the background. Deep orange-copper hue, lightly hazy (heavily sedimented but poured carefully) with a fine but mountainous, lasting off-white head and truly dense lacing. Fruity and hoppy to start, lightly citric and still very juicy, their fiery and dominant bitterness increasing towards the midpoint where it begins to fade, revealing some lightly sweet, nutty maltiness, and finishing with a blend of tangy citrus and spice, the alcoholic tinge noticeable here but not overriding. Palate is incredibly smooth, creamy, lively and gently warming, paired with a full body. Enjoyable, certainly moreso than for most here, seemingly, and would appear to have aged very well.

Small sample at beer tasting at From The Vine in Lewis Center, Ohio. Aroma malty, apply, woodsy, and slightly spicy. Light amber; small head. Flavor of wood and apple, malt, spiciness, wood; alcohol-heavy finish. Medium-full and slightly sticky. DIsappointing finish.

12.04.05 750ml bottle, HW open house. Hazed amber with slight film of head. Aroma is sweet and sugary with lots of malts and little in the way of fragrant hops. Some dried stone fruits carry the flavor with spicy alcohol and yeast. A light smokiness in the background is a surprise. Nothing special, but entirely pleasant, smooth, and warm.

750 mL bottle, corked. Pours amber copper with a thin tan film. Alcohol and caramel malt brown sugar aromas with a fruit hop nose, peaches. Hoppy acidic bitter sweet caramel malt flavor with a dry hoppy finish. Lively carbonation and a medium bodied warm palate with a dry finish.

Medium to light orange, tiny floaties, good head fades away. Slightly sour bread aroma along with some alcohol. Sour bread flavor, rough on the palate. Hint of anise. I get the fact that they were trying to get an English style, and in a sense they did. But this lacked those thick, rich caramel and toffee Maris Otter malt qualities that make up a great English barleywine. Too thin.

Not a typical-appearing barleywine. Looks more like a Belgian, with its cloudy orange body and lush head around the sides of the glass. The aroma is sticky sweet, with apples, pears and other juuicy fruits. Very astringent flavor - biting. Slighty hoppier than I expected for a barleywine and too bitter. Sour apples aplenty in the flavor. Not a great example of the style.