Mendocino Talon Barley Wine

Brewed by Mendocino Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Hopland, California USA

Looked wonderful. Hazy amber to ruby with a firm orange head and good lacing ... even though it required a pretty frisky pour! Nose of candy and alcohol. Taste of alcohol, candy, more alcohol, and a piney orange big bitter finish. Surprisingly thin for a high alcohol beer. I mostly dislike barleywines, and this one was too strong and too simple ... just a sweet alcohol slam, followed by a bitter finish. I sure do hate pouring big bottles down the drain, though.

Exits the bottle an attractive ruby red-orange color with a slight haze. Forms a thin beige head which quickly fades to some dispersed isolated blotches of foam. No lacing at all. Very reserved, but sweet, pleasant aromas of Sugar Daddy caramel candy, raisin, fig, brown sugar and crystal malts with a slight alcoholic presence. Palate reveals a slightly under-carbonated flat texture with a bit of watery thiness sneaking through. Flavor profile starts out quite sweet with notes of caramel candy, buckwheat honey, dark dried fruits and toasted malts followed by a moderate hop resin-citrus rind bitterness in the finish. The 10.5% is well hidden contributing a nice, balanced warmth at the end. At $3.99/bomber it seems like a good value.

merely soak a nevada wrangler’s saddle in an oaky tub of caramelized sugar and watery bourbon, and you’re close to locking your talons on this barley wine by mendocino. the flash of woody gold you see in the glass might be akin to the last moments of visual awareness that a rabbit is permitted to possess when an eagle’s flashy golden weaponry snaps like a trap around it’s spine. similarly, like the rabbit, i too was drawn upward, and what began as shock-- in this case a shot-glass sudden shock of southern comfort sweetness and alcohol-- soon became numbing, and peace mercifully overtook my panic. the talon is a german mustard tawny-brown hue, but perfectly clear, and a silken covering of foam on top simmered quickly away. the aroma was essentially fermented malt as described by deli-sliced brown rye bread, with tender slices of honey-baked alcohol piled high. but a more probing sniff or two finds plum jam, dried cranberry, heart wood sawdust, and a slightly oxidized sense of reams of old basement-stored tax returns. the signature of hops pen a pointed but delicate script of bitter orange over a flavor that is a watery screed of bourbon and toffee. sweet, strong and full bodied, but nothing that my tongue or nose can find that’s particularly winning or engaging. the talon may strike fast and hard, but it couldn’t keep a grip for long on THIS ol’ rabbit.

Smells like sour malt and fermented grape juice and bread.For a sweet and tarry smelling beer it has a verffy slight mouthfeel. I like that the flavor mellows considerably as it meanders down my gullet. That said, I am not a great lover of this style; I wish I could appriciate it more.

Ruby-like rust colored. Great creamy light tan head with great lacing. Aroma is sweet aged malty barleywine. Hops are wet and mostly muted. Caramel soaked socks. Flavor is more of the same, but very full and sticky sweet. There is a slight hop edge to it, which makes it more interesting. Closer inspection yields some German characteristics, mainly in the watery hops and crackery malt. Some dry, odd malt components too, like basement dust or mortar. All-in-all, it’s a good barleywine for a quiet winter evening, but one that will wreck you and your sweet-tooth if over-indulged.

Huge yellowish head, fast disappearing over dark amber-red beer. If there exists dishwashing fluid with hops, instead of citrusfruit, this is how it’s going to smell. As well as some licorice, and cake. Sweet taste, cake-ish with caramel or molasses, philo dough, and of course, hops, American style, but certainly not overdone. Some bitterness from them, but mainly sweet. Warming up, licorice in the taste as well. The hops appear crude and cheap. It’s syrupy, oily but with a very thin body for B.W. It finishes very quick, and rather empty. This is a very simple B.W. But does a BW wants to be simple? A Kellerbier, anyone? Thanks for the haul, David.

22 oz bomber. Nose smells just like a barleywine! Sweet, raisiny with dark friuts and malt aromas. Deep rusty red with a small beige head; flavor is sweet raisins, a little caramelly malt, and a hot alcohol burn; not covered well; might need to sit for a year or so. As it warmed to room temp the alcohol burn lessened.

Bomber. Pours dark, hazy garnet with fairly small light beige head. The aroma has lots and lots of raisin, some nuts, malty sweetness, and a little bit of alcohol. The flavors include brown sugar, raisin, smoke, and raw wood. The finish is ashy and the aftertaste is quite sharp. Much drier than expected.