Mendocino Talon Barley Wine

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

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.

I went into this beer not really in the barleywine mindset at the moment. Pours clear, reddish-brown with no head. Smells sweet like molasses, white grape juice, syrup. Really not much of hoppiness in the bouquet, which is expected. Tastes much the same as it smells, except that the alcohol is not that well disguised. This beer is not as balanced as I would like. All in all, not my kind of barleywine.

It is hard to really go wrong with a barleywine. Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured a ruby-chestnut color with a large dark tan head. The aroma is a delightful mix of caramel, molasses, raisins and light fruity hops. The mouthfeel is thick though it has a noted alcohol burn. The flavor is nice but does not live up to the promise of the aroma. The flavor is strong grapefruit, pine, caramel and raisins. There is a tangy and sweet nature to the beer but the noticeable harsh alcohol on the finish diminishes the enjoyment of this one.

This spent a little under half a year chilling out in the back of the fridge in it’s bomber sized bottle. Pour is a lovely dingy brown color, head is minimal but present, aromas are really nice. (I just love the way some barley wines smell, and this is one.) I’m picking up a sticky sweetness in the form of caramel and dark fruits. Flavor blends together very well... closely imitating the aromas of fruit and sweet. It is not without a couple of flaws however, as the alcohol does shine through in an antiseptic way towards the end of each sip. I’d like to age it even a little further next time and see how things turn out to see if that milds it all down a bit.

This has been in the cellar for about a year and a half. Frothy, light-brown head that mostly diminished. Dark amber color. Light bread light yeast, light dough aroma. Also raisin, date, tawny port aroma. Heavy sweet initial flavor. Very malty and completely flat carbonation. Still a very distinctive alcohol taste. Not great, but not awfull. I don’t think I would buy any more of these.

Aroma is sweet malt, caramel a hint of butterscotch and some hops, ruby, with a tiny cream head. Flavour starts with a sharp west coast hops, malt comes into the equation, with some butterscotch notes. Full bodied, really well balanced, warming, very good example. Thanks HogTownHarry.

Strong sweet aroma with some dark fruit and hops. Quite a combo. Hazy dark amber color with a white head (quickly disapears). Starts with dark fruit, proceeding to a definite molasses. Finishes malty with very determined hops. Well balanced. If anyone recalls Homocebrin, there was a passing flash that called it to mind. And I have not been subjected to it for many decades. Mouth smacking tastiness. I think my bottle is about two plus years old, and it has become very complex. Hooah.

on tap-pours a light tan head with red color. Aroma is fruit, sweet malt. Taste is fruit, sweet malt, dark, strong alcohol. An occasional, sipping beer. 091022 rerate 3.5