OHanlons Thomas Hardys Ale (vintage 2003 and later)

Brewed by OHanlons
Style: Barley Wine
Whimple, England

2008 Edition - Bottle No.48131. Deep reddish-copper with a milky burnt-toffee hue. Next to no head, very mildly carbonated. Armoas of peanut brittle, dried fruit (figs?), a firm hoppiness playig around the edges, a touch of brandy-ish spiritiness as well. Peanut Brittle continues onto the palate, with the dried fruit persisting, but with notes of orange, banana, and some candied fruits. Almost something synthetic in the fruitiness, makes me think of Freezies for some reason. Hops play in the background, keeping the palate firm, and giving the finish a pleasant and appropriate bitterness. As it warms, the beer develops a bit of sourness, as well as a rum-and-raisin character, and the peanut brittle becomes more pronounced without becoming saltier. Finish is shorter than expected though. Overall very pleased from such a young barley wine. Rating is lower than it ought to be since I really robbed the cradle with this one, must age a couple bottles and re-rate in a decade or so!

2005 No P. 11338. Deep mahagony color. Beautiful malted milk ball aroma. Incredible, new, unique flavor. Kohlarabi and sweet parsnip, butter brickle toffee ice cream. Lots of alcohol with a lingering sour that makes this worth putting some in the cellar.

2007 Bottle No P 09361. Poured brown with a thin off-white head. Aromas of figs, raisins, caramel, toffee, and light earthiness. The flavor found dark fruits, milk chocolate, and butterscotch. Full body, sweet, warming, smooth yet a slight chalky finish. Nice!!

Bottle. Deep amber body with a small off white head. Loads of sweet malt, dark fruit and barley in the aroma. Flavour has hints of port, sweet powerfull malt, barley and dark fruits. Medium bodied. A classic english barley.

(2004 bottle) Deep brown with a ruby hint and no head. Intense aroma - toffee and raisins but with some funky, leathery, resiny notes too - striking, but not entirely pleasant. The mouthfeel is thick, syrupy, even oily with the slightest hint of carbonation. The flavour is intense, dominated by sweet caramelly molasses with several other tastes including raisins, spices and of course alcohol. There is also something fairly subtle that reminds me of marmite / vegimite. There is some bitterness in the finish. Overall this is an extraordinary beer, but not one for every day. It can initially be quite confronting, but it steadily grows on you. (Thought this was a good beer for my 200th rating on Ratebeer. Soon to do a side by side taste test with a bottle I have kept for 26 years...)

2005 - Scarce, yes! Subtle, definitely not!!! Complex, no not really! Firstly, I’m not one to ever gripe about cost for a beer, especially a rare one. This is all hype and mostly too sweet for any normal person. Aroma is full of lots of syrupy malt, lots of honey some sweet dark fruits as well as that english toffee. The appearance is a deep brown, with a thin white collar. The flavor is a full dark fruit, toffee, and lots of alcohol. The flavor and finish are entirely to sweet, like in a bad way. The flavor is plenty malted. Major disappointment. Weyerbacher’s Blithering way better

Bottle 2005. Very much an english BW. Lots of toffee, maple candy, slightly oxidized and dirty old beer like-in an OK to good way. Warming, a bit of alcohol. Good full mouthfeel-slightly slick, also some butterscotch-diacetyl?

Copper brown pour with a thin off-white head. Aroma of toffee, licorice, figs and raisins. The flavor is really pretty outstanding. Lots of maple candy up front, followed by caramel and sweet dark fruit. The piney hops and formidable ABV make for a nice, warm, tingling finish. Solid mouthfeel. Very good brew.