Marin Old Dipsea Barleywine Style Ale

Brewed by Marin Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Larkspur, California USA

$4.19 picked up in California. The bottle is at least 5 months old. It pours to a very deep brown with amber highlites. A lasting creamy tan head sits atop the beer and a nice thick lacing creeps up the glass. The flavor is vinous, deep molasses, light tobacco and charred oak. The aroma is strawberry seeds, milk, caramel, toffee, toasty barley, roasted almonds, and walnuts. The palate is creamy, lingering, coating.

tap-barrel aged--pours a deep amber hue withAromas of a halo o a white head. Aromas of smoke, oak, maple and tobbacco. Flavors of the same with a light bitterness.

Murky walnut with a small tan head. Aroma is malty mocha and plums, with a hint of banana. Flavor is fruity (plums with some citrus) and malty with a little of the alcohol coming through. There is some nice hop bitterness in the finish.

22oz bottle from Bev Mo. Pours a medium amber color with a short off white head. Nose of caramel, and roasted toffee.....also some dark fruits and a bit yeasty. Very nice smooth mouthfeel. A great barley wine!!!

One of the more enjoyable barleywines consumed on the night of Rob’s fantastic barleywine tasting. A nice way to break the Lenten fast. Nice mahogany hue with notes of toffee and bacon fat on the nose. Vicose, fruity (orange peel, citron, dried cherry) and a nice lingering hop finish. Well done.

Bottle: Courtesy of DarkElf via trade. Nice caramel, toffee, banana bread, and moderate grapefruit hops. Pours a dark orangish-brown with no transparency and a small off-white head. Lots of caramel and toffee up front with some light banana bread. Gets a bit sugary sweet in the middle and builds from there to the point were it kind of covers up what would be a moderate grapefruit hop finish. Some citrusy orange flavors in the finish. The sugary sweetness in the middle seems a little out of place.

Bottle from DarkElf. Pours a deep brown color, fairly clear. Plenty of dark fruit aroma, modest caramel ,perhaps a hint of smoke. Medium bodied and a lower carbonation level which is nice. Fruity/malty combination provides a very nice backbone and is indeed the strength of this beer. Modest hop bitterness. Seems a bit more boozy than the Old Blarney which is listed a bit stronger in the abv department. Pleasant English/East Coast BW. Certainly worth trying. 2004 bottle consumed 4/09. Has held it’s age nicely. Papery, sherry-like aroma. Quite clear, deep amber colored. Well retained light khaki head. Good lacing. Full bodied, decent carbonation for a fiveyear old beer. Slightly sweet, just a hint of hop balance. Suprisingly nice for a five year old beer. Score upped from a 3.6.

Pours brown/amber. Aromas of dried fruit and alcohol. Fruity up front, lots of figs and hints of citrus. Hops not prevalent, but there. Alcohol and finishing bitterness tingle the tongue.