Marin Old Dipsea Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine Style Ale

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

RBSG09 bottle on the bus after the grand tasting. cquiroga said this was the Heaven Hill barrel version, one of only 190 bottles. Pours dark brown with some ruby highlights and a tan head. Aroma is big on caramel and molasses with dark fruity notes and a very smooth vanilla bourbon note. Flavor is also very smooth with toffee, vanilla, light booze, almonds, black cherry, and brown sugar. Totally silky on the palate. I loved it.

Shared by jhenry04, I think, at RBSG’09 Grand Tasting. Has a thick dark brown color. Aroma is molasses, alcoholic raisin, and well more alcohol from the barrel I guess. All the alcohol becomes a bit astringent but the big sweet things underneath it are cool. The flavor is bit different where the alcohol becomes that astringent cherry but the underneath big sweet malts come off as brown sugar. In the end its a BA barley wine, so it is what it is...........

Bottle shared at GT 09. Aroma is bourbon with heat, sweet wood, molasses, caramel and hop syrup. Flavor is very much the same, with alcohol sharpening everything. Well balanced indeed, but a touch hot at the moment - not that it should stop anyone from drinking it.

Light brown, no head. Aroma is vanilla, oak, bourbon, toffee, malt and alcohol. Taste is earthy, oaky, toffee, alcohol, nice hop/malt balance.

Huge thanks to pepsican, badbeer, and iowaherkeye. 20 year old fitzgerald barrels 110/180. Seemed simple at first but kept evolving. Nice hardwood character. Really alcoholic aroma, but not bad. Nice caramel, slightly chocolaty finish. Vanilla & hazelnut. Very complex.

20 year fitzi barrel, 110/180. Murky brown with a small tan head. Oak, raisin, plum, and tobacco. Flavor was loaded with caramel and toffee, some cherry, oak, chocolate, and a bit of plastic. Finished boozy, nice long rich finish. Decent carbonation. Thanks joey!

22 oz. bottle - 2009 Heaven Hill version, bottle #139/180; thanks riversideak for this rare treat; drank side by side with the Pelican Perfect Storm; pours muddy, dark brown with musky aromas of sweet bourbon, oak, brown sugar and a touch of ethanol; yummy going down with toffee, tobacco, vanilla; texture is thinned out from the wood and bourbon is more mild than the Perfect Storm; dry finish and drinks stronger than 9%; quite subtle overall and while rich, it is not too sweet; i don’t care much for the base beer, so this was a big improvement though not quite up to the Perfect Storm level for me

8 month Heaven Hill edition. Poured a brownish red color with an off-white head. The bourbon barrel dominates but not over powering. Vanilla and bourbon nose. Sweet malt flavor. Fruity taste with some bourbon mixed in. Nice warming sensation but no alcohol taste. medium-full bodied.