Marzonis 5th Anniversary Ale

From a hand bottled 12 oz bottle that was capped back in January. Sweet aroma. Taste is strong, sweet and over the top. Like most other barley wines but has a unique presence all its own. Hazy yellow and a tad on the viscous side. No carbonation. What else can be said but on style. Lots of alky on the finish. Difficult for a lager lover. A little warm going down. Hand bottling did not seem to affect this brew at all.

From growler. Pours a hazy, amber-brown color with a foamy off-white, average head that lingers on and leaves excellent lacing. Aroma is a malty sweetness, some molasses and lots of alcohol. Initial flavor is strong, sweet maltiness, some molasses, and pepper. Hot, hot, hot. Full bodied. Very tasty.

Sampled on draft at the brewery this beer poured a hazy medium brown color with a small dark tan head. The aroma was sweetish, hoppy and tangy with grapefruit and a bit of alcohol showing through. The flavor was sweet, tangy and tart with spritzy fruity and piney hops and a long bitter fruity hop finish. Very thick. Very nice.

From the sampler.....not a bad barleywine. Huge smell of dried fruits. Grapes, apricots, prunes and like. Very very sugary and sweet.

From a growler courtesy of Juart. Pours hazy dark amber, burnt caramel color. Head is small tight foam that was gone quickly. Flavor is malty butterscotch. Some sweet caramel covered banana, too. A lot of alcohol. Very warming. The body is rich and creamy. Leaves sweet alcohol on the tongue. Another solid offering from Marzonis.

Growler. Very hot aroma with sugary sweet notes. Loads of alcohol, molasses, and a little bit of spice. The taste burns my throat. Very complex and delicious, just way too hot!! 5 hops, 5 malts, and shouldve been aged for 5 more months.

Draft at brewpub. Pours murky brown -orange with thin beige/off-white head dissipating to a rimming, white wisp. Nose of caramel, raisin and brown sugar with some alcohol. Alcohol heavy in taste and heat, but not detracting. Very sweet caramel, toffee and raisin, slight cherry with a solid bitter, but not overpowering. Nice bitter and alcohol bite at the end. Good Barley Wine.

From growler. Great sweet malty nose, with alcohol, Twizzlers, candi sugar, caramel and pilsner malt. For there being five hops, it’s not hugely hoppy in the nose save for a bit of tang. There’s some wortiness to the nose, too. Really fragrant. Dark coppery amber clear with light haze, topped with thin off-white head. Medium heavy body, with medium carbonation and alcoholic warming. Starts sweet with rich malty characters, Twizzlers, candi and brown sugar, light molasses, and raw wort. Good amount of hoppy bitterness comes in at the finish, spicy notes, with lingering bitter after. Banana and other fruity esters and dry hop after. Nice barley wine, and will get better with some age on it.