Left Hand Widdershins

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

Tap at the Happy Gnome. Burnt orange appearance; very dark, very thick. Heat neutralizes in a flash the gooey sweetness of toffee and rich caramel, with violence the soft, understated hop presence of lavender and orange. Brutally hot, somehow, and hit with vinegar and carpet cleaners. Flavors are pushed about with varying degrees of rudeness by that persistent and inconsolable alcoholic attitude; peaches, grapes, cotton candy and strawberry hard candies present promisingly at the start, to be quickly stuffed beneath the wave of rough brandy booze. Dirty. Palate is full and fairly rich with soft carbonation; finish tends toward a wet tobasco type of heat for a moment and then slowly gives way to another sterilizing touch. Seriously confused and unorganized; a real pain in the ass.

750ml corked and caged bottle, bottle conditioned. 2004 Edition. Appearance: poured into a wide, shallow La Trappe glass, it casts a deep, hazy crimson, with very slim head, to none in no time. Aroma: fierce and vibrant, vast and heady, dark fruit and cognac, ripe berries and grapes, with a brash, burnished feel, my favorite stamp of a barleywine aroma. Taste/mouthfeel: complex, and perplexing, full in the mouth, a mess of flavors, but very nice, don’t get me wrong. Big, bold, and blaring away on the tongue, then softly simmering, slowing surely. Bottoms out a bit too early, and doesn’t feel cohesive enough. Rings bright, blatant fruit, with accompanying alcohol, with each sip, but there’s a lack of coherent character here. Nice attempt at a barleywine, first of the kind from this brewery that I’ve tried, and while I wanted to like it, especially after paying around $10 for it, I find the reach exceeds the grasp. It tries, and falls short of greatness, but it is a try...an expensive, well-meaning failure. Started promising, ends mediocre. Alas...

Seems to me the bottle had a wax coating on the top. Pain in the ole’ butt. Not the best BW I have had as I like them to have a broad range of flavors that are clearly defined and this did not. I wanted to find some caramelly fruity goodness but it was a mash of muddled flavors.

Beautiful orange to light amber color; the head reduces into a thin creamy cap. Very nice aroma, malty, sweet, with a clear apricot touch. Full bodied, with a good malt flavor; quite sweet but less than I expected, with a touch of oak vanilla that is particularly appreciated; all complemented by a fairly strong bitterness (but less than the American habit suggests), and with a lot of toffee in the end, too. Straight but balanced Barley Wine; I would describe it more as a Strong Belgian Ale with an apricot and vanilla touch (as it’s less malty and sticky than a Barley Wine in my mind); very very good.

Bottled. A muddy amber beer with an orange head. The aroma is sweet mlaty with notes of spices, dust, over ripe fruits, and citrus. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of caramel, straw, over ripe fruit, and dusty hops.

Deep amber colour with an off white head. Caramel sweet aroma with notes of fruit and alcohol. Malty, molasses sweet flavor with a light hoppy bitter note.

750mL bottle. Slightly hazy dark orange-brown with a thin film of white head. Alefruit, caramel, alcohol, and a slight nuttiness in the aroma. Sweet maltiness up front, somewhat sugary. Caramel, alefruit, raisin character dominates with some ruddy herbal hop components. Some alcohol heat in the finish, with residual sugar raisin bread vestiges. Mouthfeel is heavy, fairly chewy, somewhat hot.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy, reddish-brown body with a thin, white head. Smell: Aroma smelling of sugar, caramel, and fragrant, spicy hops. Taste: Vaguely caramel malt character, but plenty of sugary sweetness. There’s citrusy, spicy hop flavors. Light alcohol in bitter finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: It doesn’t seem so bad, but it is a bit of a letdown.