Moylans Old Blarney Barley Wine

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

2005 bottle. rich and malty and fairly sweet. reddish color, white head. not too hoppy, very easy to drink. a good one to try, and possibly to drink all the time - however its not something i can get all the time. have yet to have a bad beer from these guys.

Sampled vintages 99 and 01 through 04 Light copper in color with a diminishing off-white head. Aroma was fruity with notes of citrus and malty sweetness. Warming alcohol mouthfeel body is somewhat syrupy.

Bomber 2003 poured a hazy, dark copper with a creamy, long-lasting head leaving behind nice lace as I drink it. Aromas of dates, currants, maltiness, piney hops, and a faint bit of wet cardboard. Palate was medium bodied. Flavors of sweet maltiness, fruitiness, carmel, and some earthiness with a warming, lingering bittersweet finish. This barleywine ages nicely can’t wait to try it again in a couple of years.

Pours with a creamy, three-finger thick, tan colored head the is quite dense; it lingers quite a while and slowly forms a rocky, craggy surface as it slowly subsides back down in to the brew, leaving a layer of Belgian Lacing all the way down. The beer is a rich amber colored hue when held up to the light. It has a few chunks, despite being handled pretty carefully, and the beer is a drab, deep amber-brown color as it sits on my coffee table. The aroma is quite malty, with a sweet edge, a bright fruitiness and a solid toasted malt note towards the end. The aroma is somewhat muted on the hop side of things, at least for an American Barleywine; there is some contribution to the fruitiness (perhaps some black currant notes), and there might be a hint of herbal character. Overall this one is dominated by malt character in the nose.

The taste is quite sweet up front as well; the sweetness carries through to the finish, where, in combination with the alcohol, reminds me a bit of a sweet dark rum. There are definitely some molasses like notes here as well as sweet toffee and caramelized notes. The hops are a bit more evident in the flavor, but again contribute a bit to the fruitiness, some definite soft herbal notes and a bitterness that, while not excessive, provides a nice bite to balance the malt sweetness. The flavors I am picking up from this beer are myriad, let’s see if I can pull some out; I get hints of bergamot, a dry toasted barley huskiness in the finish, fruity note of cherries and raisins, almost a honey note as well as lots of other notes that I can’t quite pick out. This beer is certainly dominated by carmalized malt flavors, in combination with the sweet, straight-forward malt character, makes for a sipping brew. Speaking of sipping brews, this beer is perhaps not quite as thick as the sweetness level would suggest. It definitely is a hefty brew, but seems to go down pretty easily, at least at this stage (hey what do I know though, the only reason I am drinking this beer in the middle of the night is because I could not fall asleep).

With all the straight forward malt sweetness found in this beer, I would suggest that a bit more hop flavor and hop bitterness would make this more drinkable as a young Barleywine. As it is though this should age pretty well; the sweetness should mellow considerably over the years and the beer should pick up lots of age malt complexity with time as well. I am enjoying this beer now though, I just need to make sure to lay a couple of these puppies down.

<font size=-4>Purchased from: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/arizona/scottsd Brewing Co, Scottsdale, AZ<font size=-1>

Picked up during at Hi-Time Wine in Costa Mesa during a recent visit to Southern California, the 22 oz. bomber featured a lot of medals that Old Blarney had been awarded. There wasn’t any freshness dating, but the bottle looked quite pristine. The beer came out deep clear copper in color with a foamy, clingy head that was one finger thick. The looks were definitely stately, and so was the reserved smell. I was greeted by an aroma that rather malty, instead of the bight west coast hop assault I was anticipating. I could detect some dully earthy and vaguely spicy hoppyness via the nose. The taste was balanced nicely between sweet and dry with a constant back and forth interplay between the flavors. The malts won out in the end though, with their buttery sweet flavor. The hops were citric in their acidity, and moderate in bitterness. There was a brief hint of peat smoke in the aftertaste. Mouthfeel was thick, gritty, and teeth coatingly sticky. I found the beer to be somewhere between the English and the Atlantic Barleywine styles. While this is a great beer, it didn’t quite have the intensity of flavors displayed by the best American examples like Bigfoot, Old Crustacean, and Old Ruffian. It also lacked the smooth mellowness that great English examples like Old Nick, and J. W. Lees exhibit so well. So let’s call it an Irish Barleywine, and so the Old Blarney moniker makes sense after all.

Great red-brown color with moderate head and ample lacing. Lots of body with a smooth lingering, grapefruit-like bitterness. Very malty and fairly sweet. Sweetness and fruitly hop-bitterness combine in the finish to make a slightly strawberry flavor. Very interesting.

Bottle: Brick red with brown highlights, thin foamy beige head, fairly nice lacing.   Sour raisin and prune nose, hops are secondary in this one.   Sweet malty start, citrus rind, with the emergence of the sour raisins and prunes on the backside.   Interesting Barley Wine to say the least.   Finishes somewhat sugary sweet, with a bit more hop bite and less malt presense.   Body is fairly big, but the mouthfeel isn’t as viscous as I thought it would have been for a 10% Barley Wine.   Decent nonetheless.   Lingering sugary citrus rind and sour dark pitted fruit.   More malt, less sweetness, and less sourness, and then we’ve got something.   Good, but kinda akward and spastic.   Thanks Stephen for the bottle.

22oz bottle from santa. Pours a cloudy red color with a light white head. Nose is very sweet, lots of caramel, light hops, bready. Lots of malt, bread and caramel in the flavor, some very light hops, sugary and sweet.