North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve Brandy Barrel

Formerly brewed at North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Fort Bragg, California USA

A dark copper appearance with a beige head. The aroma contains some alcohol, cherries, raisins, and vanilla. The flavor contains some dark fruits like raisins and dates. I also taste some coconut, figs, cherries, and molasses. The brandy is present but not overwhelming. The finish is warming with the alcohol coming through. This one wasn’t too hot or sweet. A very well balanced beer. For the time being I believe this is my new favorite beer!

One of, if not the best beer I’ve had in 2008. Incredibly complex aroma that gives notes of raisins, figs, caramel, toffee from the base beer as well as added dimensions of brandy soaked wood, vanilla and coconut from the oak. Flavor consists of chocolate, caramel, brandy, coconut, vanilla, dark fruit. Port-like character. Chewy and beyond rich. This beer is amazing and a total jaw dropper. Thanks to Steve for sharing.

Bottle courtesy of wetheral, thanks again John! Pours a rich solid caramel color with a short yellowish light tan head. The aroma is big and pungent with all the best sweet characteristics you’d want from a brew like this: toffee, bready caramel malt, hints of tobacco, brown sugar, vanilla, raisin, booze, muddled oak...it’s the kind of aroma that requires a smoking jacket. The flavors are rich and boozey as one might expect from a 14% odd beast of a barley wine: earthy wood blends with bready caramel, brown sugar and rasin that gives way to some spicy booziness and vanilla in the middle. The booze takes you to brief earthy hops that quickly give way to more oak, honey, toffee, bready malt to a warming, rich finish. Pretty big body with a soft carbonation...sweet/bready/malty/boozey/and slightly woody, with a sticky sweet/boozey finish. A really nice sipping brew to which I imagine age will only contribute. The booze is quite present in this one, but by no means in a bad way. It contributes to the spicy kick mid-way and leaves that wonderful warming as it finishes. Beautiful brew, and unlike my favorite standard BW, this is special occasion decadence in a bottle vs a "easy drinking" barley wine".

Bottle at Sune’s (T+M thanks Mikkel). Clear reddish - white head. Fucking fantastic, brandy, smooth as hell, brown sugar, wood, light alcoholic, chocolate, sweetness, fruity, caramel, barley, high malty. This is fantastic. I would give this 800 - but the scale stops at 50..... so !!!!

Courtesy of mj at Kuhnhenn’s Rasberry Eisbock release

Bottle: Outstanding aroma is a combination or caramel, chocolate, toffee, maple syrup, and light alcohol. It pours a transparent orangish-brown with a minimal off-white head. The liquid really coats the glass leaving behind sticky legs. The flavor is excellent and consists of chocolate, caramel and maple syrup. The finish has notes of buttery vanilla and bourbon. The alcohol isn’t overbearing as it has just a faint presence in flavor in the finish along with a nice warming affect. Full bodied with an oily texture and mild carbonation. Absolutely outstanding.

It’s so good! A bit rocky transition into the spiciness of the brandy flavor, but a nice dark barleywine. More dry than sweet, but still outlines of brown sugar and fruit. Ageing smooths this one out so very nicely.

Dark brown in colour with a thin tan head, light lacing with some alcohol legs. The aroma is of toffee and chocolate, vanilla, oak, candy sugar, dark fruits with a bit of light alcohol. The flavour is very rich and chewy, smooth, sweet with lots of chocolate, dark fruits, caramel and a bit of alcohol. Warming mouthfeel, medium body, medium carbonation. Finishes long, sweet, smooth.

This is an incredible Barley Wine, so smooth for 15%. Pretty much a masterpiece in my mind, the best barrel aged beer I’ve have had.

375ml bottle obtained in a trade with TheCheeseMan, thanks Dan.
Opened on December 5, 2008.
Vintage 2005.

Name: Old Stock 2005 Brandy
Date: December 15, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party
Appearance: clear dark brown, scant beige head
Aroma: sweet brandy and caramel candy aroma with dark fruity and a bit of hot alcohol that melds well with the other characters
Flavor: sweet chocolate and caramel flavor, candy sweetness, nice fruity character, sticky sweetness, alcohol leaves fumes but stays out of the way

Name: Old Stock 2005 Brandy
Date: December 18, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Score: 4.4 to 4.7
Appearance: viscous enough to almost have legs
Aroma: dark fruit is coming out stronger in the aroma with essence of raisons sautaed in a brown sugar reduction and drizzled with a vanilla infused white chocolate sauce
Body: body has initial high carbonation but quickly settles into being thick and sticky
Flavor: flavor is all chocolate covered caramel with a brandy center, touch of molasses, a bit of the dark fruits, just a hint of the alcohol

Name: Old Stock 2005 Brandy
Date: April 05, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Score: 4.2
Aroma: sweet dark fruit aroma continues to take domonance, vanilla sweetness follows
Flavor: sweet dark caramel flavor, brown sugar sweetness, touch of brandy along with the brown sugar, dark fruits still trying to gain a foothold, alcohol is all but gone leaving a peppery wake then makes a return at the finish
Overall: tasty but loosing some of the brandy caramel candy character

Aroma: 10/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 20/20
Rating: 4.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***4