Mad River John Barleycorn

Brewed by Mad River Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Blue Lake, California USA

Dark ruby, medium sized beige head. Aroma of toffee, floral hops, cherries and honey. Taste is sweet with hop balance. Finishes with roast malt and alcohol.

12 oz twist off bottle purchased at Zipps in Minneapolis, Minnesota for me by my Dad. Celebrating the harvest 2008, on the label. Pour is a murky orange, brown and golden color with a one and a half inch tan head. Head is well formed, and quite lasting. When it eventually falls, it left behind nice lacing. Pretty beer. Aroma of sweet caramel and gentle baking brown sugar, some faint but full orange fruit in there as well. Engaging nose, full and soft at the same time. Perhaps a tad too one dimensional with the malt sweetness, but it is a Barley Wine after all. Taste is the caramel sweetness up front, with an earthiness that was not present in the nose. Rather than enhancing, the earth detracts some, coming across as a bit dirty. The dirtiness fades as it warms. Behind the caramel is the orange fruit of the nose, and it carries through to the finish which has a bunch of dry grass and straw, which was even more pronounced as the beer approached room temperature. The aftertaste has a bit of alcohol heat. The baking brown sugar of the nose is nowhere to be found in the taste. Palate is medium, above average carbonation for a barley wine, and a bone dry finish. Extra point for coming in a 12 oz bottle, was a good size for this beer. This was nice, though I was expecting something a bit softer tasting from the nose.

Big bad-ass grainy, caramely hoppy barleywine!!! Very alcoholic and not for wimps! Boiling hop resins dominate and the grains plow through. Aptly named. For the price it is superb! If allowed to age and it mellowed a bit would be fantastic!

The starts off with a twist top cap. Classy. The beer pours a dark clear brown. The aroma is of brown sugar and rasins - very nice; almost Belgian dubbel in smell. After taking the first sip, these same smells are the taste of the beer. After being in the mouth for just a second, a nice bitterness develops. And, then lingers a bit too strong. Great beer to sip.

Celebrating the Harvest 2007 (It says on label) Pours a deep copper color with a beautiful, deep ruby tint. Looks very nice, when held in front of a light source. About one-finger of loose foam forms on top, then leaves, just almost as quickly. Lacing is thin and light, but still present. This smells like a glass of delicious malty goodness, with a touch of a boozy hint. The maltiness smells like a brewery. You know, when you’re on a tour, and you come to the room where they add the malted grains, and they just added them an hour to two ago. You know that huge, powerful, delicious smell? This beer smells like that. There is also some layers of caramel and toffee, in there. Nice hints of dark fruits. This could be my favorite smelling barleywine, ever. Oh, god, that’s pretty damn tasty stuff. Such a plain looking bottle, hiding something this wonderful inside. Yumm! Just a nice, big-sized, malt-bomb. Not over-the-top, either. Thoroughly smooth. Light notes of dark fruits mingle with notes of caramel and toffee. Slight hints of vanilla. Very mild kiss of hops, right at the end. You almost miss it. All over it, lies a nice, smooth, butterey sweetness, with a hint of spice. Solid medium body. I wish it was a tad bit more full, and this one would be damn near perfect, for me. Nice, smooth and creamy. This is so highly drinkable, to me. I could drink this in place of water, for an extended time, I think. Granted, I might not get much done in that time period, but I’d be happy. And I’d enjoy every drop of it.

Bottle. Pours slightly hazy amber with a small tan head. Aroma is sticky-sweet, of caramel and overripe dark fruits. Flavor is similar, with some roasted malt and woody hops cutting through the still fairly chewy sweet body. Bit of a sour note at times. Pretty good on the whole. Not for fans of subtle barleywines, but if you want a big, chewy, sweet one, it’s not bad.

12oz bottle, 2006 edition, from once upon a vine south. pours a hazy, dark, brownish-copper with a thin, quickly disappating white head and light lacing. aroma is very nice with sweet, caramel malts, toffee, apple skins, earthy hops, and a hint of lemon citrus and cognac. flavor is quite tasty as well with big, mildly sweet caramel malts, apple cider, orange pith, molasses, and sweet honey up front backed by bright, spicy, citrus hop notes and leafy earth on the back end with a nice, roasted malt finish. palate is full bodied, rich, and lightly carbonated with a good bit of alcohol warmth. overall, a solid barley wine that has aged nicely.

blind tasting. chestnut brown pour. chocolate malts, malty richness, booze, darker dried fruits. Nice fuller mouthfeel. syrupy, orange chocolate. nice dose of bitterness.