Max Old 320 Barley Wine

Brewed by Max Lagers
Style: Barley Wine
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Date: 01/28/2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

clear dark amber, frothy tan head, dripping lace, huge earthy hop aroma on a slightly sweet carmel malt base, slightly thin body, rich carmel malt flavor well balanced with plenty of bitterness, a bit of sweetness shows up after a while
-------- /> Date: 01/28/2006
Mode: atl cask fest

clear dark amber, frothy tan head, big sweet piney aroma, huge carmel malt flavor, lots of sweetness tempered by some earthy hop bitterness, well balanced, a good notch above the keg version
-------- /> Date: 01/26/2008
Mode: cask
Words: acat

a lot drier this year with the dark caramel dried out by lots of earthyness,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 4/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Pours a transparent dark copper mahogany with a thin-lacing wispy off-white head. Sweet sugary caramel malty aroma has a mild piney hop character. Starts with a nice viscous caramel malty sweetness and good grapefruity bitter hoppiness. Finishes lightly sticky and warming. A decent barleywine, but could use a little more complexity.

Had at the restaurant and on cask at ’06 cask ale challenge on the same day. </br>Draught: Slightly hazed mahogonay color with a small off-white head. Cirusy hop aroma with a good bit of sweet malt underneath. Some fruit mixed in with the caramel. Hop flavor was citrusy and acidic. Caramel malt is riding underneath. The hop flavor grows as the malt finishes. Pretty long bitter finish. Nice warming sensation. A little on the thin side though.

Caramel and Lots of cane sugar to make it drinkable and give it some unique but not necessarily interesting flavour as well. West Coast influence is presence of hops throughout.

Appearance: Pours a murky, dark brown body with a thin, wispy beige head. Smell: Muddled aroma of various notes - dark caramel, citrus, pine, and even a pinch of roast. Taste: Earthy, soil-strewn dark caramel flavor with, well, not much sweetness. Citrusy, piney hops with a moderate bitterness that lasts into the finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: One of those beers that is only a barleywine by name alone.

I didn’t try this at the Atlanta Cask Ale tasting, but I did have a pint of it with lunch earlier in the day. The beer pours a nice reddish brown with a creamy head that’s a bit small, but does stick around for a while. The aroma is big caramel, fruits, a touch of toast. There’s a bit of a bite from the hops in the back that keep this from being straight up British style, but the hops aren’t really big enough to be West Coast American Barleywine. This is actually a bit on the lighter end of the style in body and that overworked yeast fruitiness that a characteristic of many of the traditional barleywines.

Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting Poured a thin brown with almost no head. Little aroma for a barleywine. Lightly sweet and little complexity or depth. Very light and thin overall.

Ruby, large puffy off-white head. Nose is caramel, some light hop, fruit (bananna, peach.) Flavor is caramel, soapy bitterness, light plastic. Hops are quite subdued. Very thin body. Wishy washy.