Mendocino Talon Barley Wine

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

Dark, semi-hazy mahogany color with a medium-large off-white head. Sweet malty aroma with some dark fruit. Malty sweet flavor, alcohol, fruitiness with a slight saltiness. Some whiskey and dark chocolate in the aftertaste. Definite long, warm alcohol finish. Soft medium-light body. Very nice. Oh and by the way, Do the chickens have large talons?

Bottle. Poured dark amber with a large frothy off-white head that lasted. Heavy complex fruit and malt aroma. Medium to full body with a sticky texture. Moderate sweet fruity flavor with a small alcohol tone and a long finish. Good complex brew.

A nice medium-thick head with an outstanding aroma. You can note a peteyness to it like a Scotch Ale. Definite notes of fruit and sweetness permeate the aroma also. A deep amber, nearly red hue gives way to a somewhat sweet, citrusy taste - a very full body taste. Althought it was purchased and enjoyed during the summer, it would go well with anything during the winter months. High scores for a reall great beer."

Overall, this is a very light and subtle barleywine. Not alot of character and overall I thought this was pretty weak. This one has entirely way too much hops to be a barleywine, this comes across as more of a hopped up american strong ale, and the alcohol is way too present, almost cloying in the finish.

22oz. bottle, is likely winter 2004 vintage. Sufficiently powerful aroma, plenty of brown sugary malts, pine and citrus with lighter notes of medicinal alcohol, cookie dough, dried flowers, cinnamon and peppery spices. Deep, dark red-amber color, bottle conditioned, with a slight, fine head leaving thin tendrils of lace behind. Flavor profile is still predominantly hop-oriented, some orange and pineapple flavors to start, soon after seeing an influx of toffeeish malts and mild spiciness, some golden raisin as it the beer warms, and finishing with an explosion of bitterness, the resins serving to dry out the palate alongside the warming alcoholic presence. Low in effervescence with a full body. Perhaps lacking the interplay that comprises a truly great Barleywine but is still a welcome companion on a cold January night.

A copper pour with smallish head, signature sweet BW aroma. Would place this one in the lower middle of the pack, a decent beer and quite drinkable but no real distinctive characteristic to pique my interest.

bottle. Darker copper hue with nice head retention. The aroma is syrupy sweet and foresty with maybe some cinnamon as well. It goes down decently thick with minimum alcohol burn. There’s plenty of pine and some thin caramel. This is a good beer, but it didn’t satisfy my craving for a rich barley wine.

well, if there was ever a middle of the road barley wine, or a barley wine to introduce to a newbie, this is it. malty, sweet, but not too big. very nice, and very user friendly.