Mill Street Barley Wine

Vintage 2007
Beautiful stone bottle from Kensington Wine Market Beer, Calgary
Hazy light amber color, the head reduces to a thin layer. It has a nice aroma of barley, at times reminding a Bock; later, almonds come to mind. Good body, with strong caramel flavor and fairly good bitterness, but still concentrated on the sweetness; maybe a touch of sweet vanilla too. Not vibrant, but solid; again between a classic barley wine and a doppelbock.

500ml bottle. Pours copper-red with a dense, long lasting head. Smells of brandy and sugar with notes of licorish and even cherry. Very very sweet malts with an extremely dry alchohol finish where all subtlety is lost. Overly syrupy mouth feel. Much better offerings are available from Mill St.

Stubby 2005 bottle #6298 (at what point do you stop counting ;), thanks to Harry! Poured a lovely shade of deeer apricot with a creamy, well-retained cap of beige head.. lots of sticky lacing as it descended. The aroma picked up a rich array of aged red and darker fruits, raisins, drawn caramel, and a deeper current of alcohol-warmed spices that complimented the brew well.. sweet overall and it came together very well. The flavor had aged caramel, dark fruits, and raisins again at the sweet core with a mild earthy bitterness (likely muted due to age).. grainier finish with primarily caramel sweetness and some alcohol warmth. Heavier-bodied and on the sweet side on the palate.. lighter carbonation.. this really struck me in the right way. Very good brew!

500ml Ceramic pirate jug courtesy of Tommy84. Batch# 07-557-560, 2007 vintage. Pours a hazy orange amber with almost zero head. Aroma is pleasant, flavor is of apricot and other fruit. Perfect alcohol burn, as this beer appropriately shows its 10%, nothing more, nothing less. One of the better barley wines I’ve had. Recommended. Thanks Mill Street.

Terracotta-like bottle, 500 ml, 2007, purchased at the LCBO, savoured on April 30 2008; eye: orangey caramel, hazy, light effervescence, white head that falls rapidly but leaves a carpet on the beer, lacing; nose: orange, citrusy hops, caramelized malt; mouth: bitter hops, lots of caramel that arrives just as a second wave of bitter hops arrives, caramelized malt then leaves its place to the hops, orange, alcohol is there though difficult to perceive but its warmth is sure present, finale in bitter hops with a good presence of malt, creamy texture, rather bitter, mildly sweet, full body, sticky texture, average carbonation, light astringency; overall: quite likable FRANÇAIS Bouteille à effet terre cuite, 500 ml, 2007, achetée à la LCBO, savourée le 30 avril 2008; œil : caramel orangée, voilée, légère effervescence, mousse blanche qui tombe rapidement mais laisse un petit tapis sur la bière, dentelle; nez : orange, houblon citrique, malt caramélisé; bouche : houblon amérisant, beaucoup de caramel qui arrive juste au moment où une deuxième vague de houblon viendrait frapper, malt caramélisé cède le pas à tout ce houblon, orange, même si on perçoit à peine l’alcool on sent sa chaleur, finale en houblon amérisant avec une bonne présence de malt, texture crémeuse, plutôt amère, moyennement sucrée, corsée, texture collante, carbonatation moyenne, légère astringence; en résumé : bien aimé