Middle Ages Druid Fluid

Brewed by Middle Ages Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Syracuse, New York USA

Bottle provided by Larry (goldtwins) via trade. Deep red-orange body, medium/thin clumping cream head. Deep caramely aroma, bready, with big piney and resiny C-hops and hints of dark fruit. Rather undeveloped caramel body with some dark fruits, very sweet, balanced (or overbalanced) by resiny pine sap and grapefruit rind hops. A bit "hot," a function of its age. Sweet and lightly tangy but not all that complex. Could use some cellar time.

Dark copper with a small off white head. Aroma is malty sweet, raisins, and some floral hop, but I had to sniff hard...seemed muted. Flavor is sweet a little fruity, and finishes with a bitter backbone. Balanced but again somewhat muted. Light to medium bodied. The only thing not muted was the warming from the alcohol.

Bottle ala Rudolf. Clear copper color. Head is off-white and long lived. Good lacing. Aroma is sweet malt with a decent hop background. On the lighter side of a medium body. Just a tad thin. Plenty of hops although not overwhelming. Malt bill could be increased a little. Decent barleywine.

Bottle pours a dark cloudy caramel, medium foamy off-white head, with fairly sticky lacing.   Buttery caramel aroma, not quite like butterscotch, but close.   Also light hops.   Buttery hoppiness as I indulge, slightly malty, but not as sweet as I would have thought.   Body and mouthfeel seem a bit light, but perhaps they’d thicken with age.   Finishes a bit rough, some hop ruggedness, but not enough malt or sweetness to make it worthwhile.   Not bad, but either too young or not complex enough.   Thanks goes out to jah noth for the trade!

Bottled...Good malty aroma...Color of burnt copper...Very easy drinking barleywine almost I’d say sessionable...NIce hop bite that comes as a bit of a suprise...I drink a lot of this on the disc golf course...cheers

This was a decent barleywine but the flavor seemed a bit off. I think it was due to a bottle that was a little old so I will have to re-try this and re-rate it at another time. Update: 11/24/06 The bottle that I had this time was better than before. A nice beer to warm you up on a cold evening. I still prefer many other barleywines to this though. Still, give it a try. Recommended.

Bottle has been aging my cellar for about 2 years. Big complex, malty aroma. Sweet caramel, a little diacetyl, pipe tobacco, figs, oiled leather. Color is a nice rich copper. Carbonation is medium, but it produces a healthy thick, off white head that leaves plenty of lace on the glass and coats the surface of the beer until it reaches the bottom of the glass. The taste is as complex as the nose. Lots of malt and alcohol up front. A smokey, tobacco like taste that is similar to the smokey, peaty single malt Scotches from Islay. Finish is rich and long, and this is where the hops finally come in. Big mouthfeel, warming from the alcohol. This could actually gain more complexity with more aging, so I’m glad I have another bottle in my cellar!

Pours with a one-finger white head that fades quickly leaving some lace. Cloudy amber color. Good carbonation. Nose is a sweet floral. Medium bodied. Starts with an excellent mix of hops and malt, very warming the alcohol is noticeable. Some hop aftertaste. $3.55 for a 12oz bottle from Olivers Beverage Cen. Albany, NY.