Mendocino Talon Barley Wine

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

22oz bottle from BevMo Mission Valley. This beer is very underrated in my opinion. A beautiful caramel brown pour, a thin wispy beige head. Nose was very sweet with tons of caramel and fruity aromas. The only reason this is not a top 10% Barely Wine is the lack of balance. The malt character in this brew completely dominates and the hop is MIA. I think its a great one!!

Very nice, the deep burnt brown sugar-like tones of raisin combine with the alcohol bite to make this almost spicy. That said, the high alcohol content is apparent but not a distraction. Not a massive beer but very pleasant. The best Mendocino I’ve had.

bomber from a trade with Degarth. pours dark orange with a small off white head that is gone quickly. almost no carbonation typical of the style. huge aromas wallop you with sweet malts and hops. great barley wine aroma. flavours are very different from the aroma with a lot of sweetness and even chocolate, hops round it out at the end. the sweetness made it hard to get through this bomber and i can feel the 10.5% more and more on my palate. overall its a good barley wine and im glad i got to have it but i wouldnt trade for it again.

pours a very neat burnt orange hue with lots of rich sweet figgy fruit aromas. the mouthfeel is suprizingly lighter than i expected with lots of syrup, malases, and buttery malt notes. the finish is extremely smooth and nicely accentuated by a nice hint of hops. all and all a very quality barleywine

Did not really enjoy. Overpoweringly sweet, it sort of blasts your mouth in an unpleasant way. Had to struggle through the 22 oz’er. Will definitely stay away from this beer in the future.

Bottle. Pours beautiful dark brown with big fluffy head, very nice. This is where the pleasantry ends. Aroma and flavor are sickeningly sweet, very simple. one flavor (i can’t put my finger on what it is, raisins? maple syrup?) overpowers anything else that may or may not be there...but it does cover the alcohol really well. desperately in need of hops.

Pours a dark amber with a thin off white head. Aroma is very malty with raisins and a bit of alcohol. Flavor is quite a malt wallop. Caramel, raisin, dark fruit, just a bit of hops, and chocolate. Finishes a bit sweet, light carbonation. No hint of the ABV. This is very drinkable, but I think if it had a bit of a stronger hop character it would stand out more. Still very solid, which I’ve come to expect from this brewery.

Bottle. Rather boring barleywine. Had a rich fruity malt nose that was almost sickly sweet. Almost purple in color with a thin off-white head, no lacing. Overly cloying and sweet, mostly fruity. Medium bodied with some lingering bitterness.