North Coast Old Stock Ale

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Fort Bragg, California USA

(2007 bottling) Pours a hazy dark amber with a medium off white head. Aroma is strong fruity raisin. Nice chocolatey roast malt, toffee Flavour is medium bodied, soft dark fruit alc presence. dusty chocolate and woody vanilla hints. I’ve had better barley wines personally. ... 3 bottles into a 4 pack and it’s grown on me now.

12 oz bottle. Pours a murky muddy brown with a good coating of silky creamy light beige head that leaves a smooth slick of head. Aroma started off with notes of orange, honey, raisin, grapes, sherry, cognac, brown bread and maple syrup. Palate is light carbonation over a medium body with a very dry finish. Flavor is not as bold or complex as the aroma and has a good dose of booziness about it. The remainder of the flavor is rounded out with dry toast notes, caramel, toffee, more booze and bread. Nice enough but it didn’t knock my socks off, oh wait my socks are gone it must be from all the alcohol.

Garnet pour with gem-like qualities of sparkling carbonation. A small dense off-white head sits atop the body of the brew. Flavors of roasted malt, caramel, toffee, and vanilla are present. Aroma is of dark fruit and brown sugar. Sticky, sweet, and solid.

Poured out and settled with a deep dark amber brown color and a flat head. Aromas toasted malt and sweet syrup become present however the taste differs. There are sweet banana and roasted malt notes that are subdued from the overwhelming alcohol presence. Has an Imperial IPA or barley wine quality with a very thick body, sticky mouth feel and a toasted finish. Although it has a slightly unpleasant medicinal taste as well between the first sip and finish. I’d prefer North Coast’s “Old Rasputin” over this one.

2004 vintage. Found this at discount liquors in milwaukee. Aroma is closer to a red wine than any beer i’ve ever had. Balance between the flavor and the alcohol is very tight. A bit of bitterness in the finish, a creamy mouthfeel, and a very bitter finish. Pretty good, I’ll have to find out what its like fresh.

2008 Intense caramel nose, maybe some smoke. Deep red-orange color, medium, but dense creamy head with soapy lacing. Raisiny sweet, some fig flavors, bitterness is pronounced to help balance the intensity. Delicate carbonation, full mouth feel, creamy body. Finish is long, with the heavy alcohol burn appearing at the very end. An extremely satisfying strong ale, complex sweetness with great balance and intense construction of characteristics.

Pours a glowing transparent red orange with minimal head. Aroma of sweet caramel, brown sugar, and vinous qualities. Overcarbonated, but still good flavor with definite wood and alcohol notes and also dark fruit. Alcohol is slightly overpowering, but a nice barley wine nonetheless.

This was a 2000 vintage received in a trade from greger on BA

Impressively this still popped open with a nice pfft. Wow this one still poured with the regular 1 inch caramel colored Old Stock head that I have come to know and love. it fades quickly though to a thin layer of foam. I poured this at a pretty cold temperature because I like to see how a beer this old progresses over temperatures from 45 to room temp. Its got a murky, dark ruby brown color that I cannot see through. I think some of the murkiness is from immediately throwing this in the fridge to drink and not letting the bottle settle, but I just had to dig in to this one. Little in the way of lacing.

Tons of vanilla, deep caramel malts, nuttiness and cherries dominate the nose with some brandy like alcohol sneaking through. There is also plenty of wood, rum soaked raisin and slight oxidated richness adding to the nose. I can stick my nose in this for hours. Delicious.

Taste follows suit from the smell. lots of vanilla, caramel, cherry and nuttiness up front. Some of those aforementioned rum soaked raisins and overall very brandy like. Very dry wine like finish and it leaves a lingering sweet brandy and fruit taste on the tongue. As it warmed all the way to room temperature I got a slight bit of chocolate and grape as well. This is one complex mother of a beer with this much age on it.

Nice and syrupy sweet with just a hint of prickly carbonation left, but it felt a little watery at times.

Warming alcohol burn in my stomach that is reminiscent of a fine after dinner drink which is exactly what this is. Definitely a sipper. One I will enjoy for hours to come. Soo sweet but this is an unbelievable beer with this much age on it. I feel like I am never going to drink this fresh again. It just keeps getting better and better and better with time.