Moylans Old Blarney Barley Wine

Brewed by Moylans Brewery & Restaurant
Style: Barley Wine
Novato, California USA

Bottle as a great bonus from wavers21. Thanks Terry! Nose is firmly malty with rotting apples that carry into the flavor. Seemed a bit hot throughout which is my mistake. Brendan makes really above-average B Wines so let them sit for a bit. Flavor was very balanced (aside from the alcohol) and even featured a bit of hops.

Murky brown color with a large head. Caramel and toasted malt aroma, and a little pine hop. Nice, strong, sweet malt flavor. Some caramelly tones. Definitely an acidic and hoppy finish. Alcohol is present, but considering it’s 10%, I’d say it’s hidden. As an American style barleywine, it’s pretty solid. I’m a fan of English styles, so I’m letting one chill out for a year or two.

draft @ Uber - 2006 vintage; fuzzy brown with creamy tan head; musky with brown sugar, mild creamy, dank fruit, touch of sourness in the finish; not a trace of booze and medium body; a little on the sweet side, but finish seems a little out of place

Over a year in the bottle, about time to crack one of these open. Pours with a murky copper-brown body producing a thin bubbly head and spotty lacing. Smell of healthy bran cereal, honey and some oats. A fairly mild aroma I wish it were more robust. Rather dry with a sweet and bitter punch. Medium bodied for the style, well blended and calm. There is a biting bitter aftertaste. Tastes like granola with honey. On the nutty side with a sweet toffee and bitter hop profile. Noble and sturdy, there are undertones of citrus and flowers along with a trace of butterscotch.

An orange/amber pour with fluffy off white head and lace. Aroma is brown sugar, raisins and a hint of abv. Flavor mirrors the aroma except for the sweet malt backbone that it throws out there. This is a very nice beer.

This is a really good brew. The rich malty aroma was evident from the time I opened the bottle. Strong biscuit and pale malt character dominate the sroma and flavor. It pours a dark copper to light brown color with a nice tan head and good lacing. The hop aroma is pleasant but slightly understated. This is beer is sweet and rich with a decent hop presence to balance it out. Another good effort from Moylans.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a thin lasting beige head, with some lacing, over a dark copper (SRM 18-20) clear body.....nose has toffee, bread, yeast, some hop heaviness....taste initally has toffee sweetness then balancing hop come in with a sharp phenolic finish...mouthfeel is thick and chewy, carbonation is a bit high. This seems somewhat unbalanced for the style. Hop bitterness dominates rather early on, and the malt complexity is not present as it is in many others. Perhaps it is too young. There is no indication of age on the label and they are very specific about keeping it cold which suggests minimal aging potential.

Sampled at Springslicker’s Fish Fry ’09. Clear orange amber pour with thin tan head. Flavor of hop bitterness and all the standard ’raisin, rum soaked fruits, etc’ flavors. Pretty good, but not the best barleywine i’ve had.