Midnight Sun Big Slick

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Anchorage, Alaska USA

Bottle. Pours a copper body with an off white head. Big hoppy aroma with pine, grapefruit, and some earthy toned notes. Malty as well, plenty of caramel giving it a hoppy fruity body with a moderate warming and a bitter finish. Decent enough, but not quite MS quality.

22 oz bottle. Pours a clear amber with a big thick off white head that leaves some lacing. Big aroma of pine resin, citrus, and sweet caramel and dates. The flavor is sweet and bitter, the alcohol is there but not overpowering. Medium to full body with average barley wine carbonation and a thick syrupy mouth feel. I has this fresh and the hops were very very strong, it’s mellowing out now but still very bitter and a bit harsh in the finish.

Amber pour with a thick sticky head. The nose is really quite lovely. Rich sweet hoppiness with a mix of tropical fruit and some soft herbal notes. It’s very hoppy on the nose, but only moderately so on the palate. Warming brings out a sort of medicinal character. Kind of a mess of different things going on in here… big hoppy nose but there is a strange balance of flavours on the palate. I want to like it, but I sure don’t

Courtesy Americanbrew. Couple month old bomber. Pours a mostly clear copper color topped by a good sized, foamy tan colored head. Sheets of lacing mark the glass. The aroma is all about the hops with huge notes of bitter grapefruit, resinous pine, and floral hops on top of the sweet caramel and toffee malt backbone. The flavor follows with the bitter grapefruit and piney hops up front followed by some floral and citrus hops. The hop bitterness is balanced out nicely by the sweet caramel malt base, but there is no doubt this is one hoppy beer. Full bodied and thick on the palate almost chewy from the hops with balanced carbonation leading to a dry and bitter finish. This is a really good barleywine if you are into the hops.

Courtesy juiceisloose. Fresh bomber. Pours a clear, brassy copper hue with a moderate, foamy, tan colored head. A thick, sheeting wash breaks apart into fat, wet spots of lacing. The nose is hoppy as hell, Massive notes of bitter, juicy grapefruit and dank grass showing atop a rich caramel and toasted toffee malt base. Flavors follow suit, again massively hopped with biting, bitter grapefruit and grass hops, with a touch of pine for good measure. As bold as it is, the caramel malt doesn’t just get drowned out. Rather, it lends a nice, sweet touch that tones the hop avalanche down just enough. The body is big and thick, smoothly carbonated, finishing strikingly bitter and slightly drying. This one reminds me of fresh Old Guardian in many ways. Good stuff, if you’re into hop bombs.

Sampled from 22-oz bomber during Darkness Day 2009 in Brooklyn Center, MN. Pours a semi-clear copper colored brew with a fast dissolving off-white head that dissipates to a film top. Aroma of tropical fruits, some caramel malt, some maple syrup and a hint of maple syrup. Taste is full bodied, some light metallic profile from the higher alcohol presence with flavors of caramel malt, plums, some honey, dark pitted fruits and a hint of corn syrup. Finish is slightly metallic and a mild bitterness that slowly disappears. I would give this a little more aging.

Bottle… October ‘09 O-Town Throwdown!… Clear copper ale with a small, quickly dissipating, white head. The nose presents notes of maple syrup, praline and almond brittle. Full-bodied with a fatty mouthfeel and lazy carbonation. Sweet and caramely up front; bitter as Hell on the backside. The high ABV is not evident. Lengthy, bittersweet finish. Bottle courtesy of juiceisloose

October ‘09 O-Town Throwdown, cheers to juiceisloose. Pours amber, beige head. Aroma is malty, caramel, hint sof bitterness, light fruits. Flavor, malty, caramel, barley, some hops, grainy / malty mouthfeel, ends with some bitterness and fruits. Overall palate has a pronounced hop bitter profile.