Mad River John Barleycorn

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

Bottled, tasted at PP Bottle Shop with deftim13, DenverLogan, wetherel, Sean & Ryan. A young barley wine that could use some aging, it pours light copper with small white head. Talk about a spicy & fruity aroma...whoa. I got a lot of apple and light ammonia notes out of this one, quite weird. Flavors comprised mostly of citrus, pepper and some tobacco. Finishes too harsh for my taste, but intriguing for the style for sure.

I’ve been wanted to rate this beer for a while. I love to try every single >10% beer I can get my hands on. Had at PP bottle shop with deftim13, hapjydeuce, denverlogan, Sean, and Ryan. I think Sean bought this bottle. Tasted side by side with some great beers and this was one of the last tasted, which probably didn’t help this rating, but it was still a decent beer. Tastes young and fresh. Leans a little dry (I like sweet). Little head, but some carbonation. Amber color. Aroma was mild. Certain events reduce my nose’s ability to smell: bars and after tasting many beers. Not a great beer, but I wouldn’t mind rerating it.

The pour is a mostly clear, very lightly hazy dark burnt-orange to sienna brown color. A medium sized, frothy, off-white head dissipates slowly to a wispy film with a prominent, bubbly edge. Thick macro-bubble sheets of lacing coat the glass almost entirely. The aroma shows ultra-sweet caramel malts, dark corn syrup, candied orange peel, toasted grains and a variety of grassy and citrus hops. The flavor is strange, and borderline confusing. That same sweet caramel and corn syrup baseline is met with a weird and unexpected, ultra-peppery hop profile, as well as a sharp vegetal component that stabs the roof of the mouth and sticks around for eons. The palate is medium-full, very sticky, and full of fizzy carbonation that intensifies the peppery spice. The finish is as long as an I can remember, sticking around for ages. This brew looks and smells the part, but wow does it take a downturn after that. This is a strange one.

Bottled-2007 Harvest: Floral and citrus aromas. Amber color. Sweet flavors. A good drink.

Bottle. Pours crystal clear copper with a thick and fluffy pale orange head. Sweet citrus and carame aroma, with lightly grassy notes. Sweet and full body with light carbonation. The taste was a surprise. Big, chewy malt presence initially submerges all the other tastes. Little by little, a nutty berry breaks through the caramel. Lightly spicey and yeasty, semi-dry finish that betrays the alcohol content. Long after I’ve swallowed, a bit of bitterness shows up. I don’t think I’d want to age this beer more than a year or two - it’s pretty much ready to go as is.

Poured it straight down the middle for the first half to knock some carbonation out of the beer… I’m just not a big fan of Co2… strangely; I’m really sensitive to it.?
A striking look for a beer. A hearty amber body… a brilliant thick light tan colored head, and lots of lacing. The aroma is herbal and sweet. Slight mentions of pine, apricots, pears, red apple, and caramel. The palate is sticky, chewy, and a bit too sweet for my current desires. Be that as it may, a well-made beer… but from the West Coast of the US… dude, please give this Southern boy some more bittering spicy hops!

Bottle poured into a snifter. Light head, minimal lacing. Nose is a faint, slightly grassy sweetness. Malts and hops are balanced nicely, the alcohol floats nicely along, and it adds up to an average barleywine. Note: certified organic grain, or hops, or whatever, does not in and of itself diminish or improve a beer. It’s the same stuff, people; it’s just that in the making of it, it’s better for you and the planet.

Malty, sherry-like aroma, caramelly nose. Pours an orangish amber with little to no head. Big malts, with a huge citrus hop flavor, caramelly, brown sugar, with hints of toasted malts, with citrus hoppiness, but not a lot of bitterness. Very smooth and nice, needs a little age to finish off the flavors.