Ølfabrikken Barleywine

Formerly brewed at Bryggeriet Ølfabrikken (Gourmetbryggeriet)
Style: Barley Wine
Roskilde, Denmark

(Bottle 25 cl). Hazy, dark amber with a creamy, light brown head. British style barley wine. Very malty and sweet with a surprisingly subdued bitterness.

Bottle. Creamy off-white excellent fully lasting head. Cloudy dark-amber colour. Heavy malty and hoppy aroma. Very powerfull. Heavy bitter aroma. Long heavy bitter finish. Creamy palate. Excellent beer.

Bottled. Cloudy reddish brown with big lasting pale brown head. Malty sweet aroma of red berries, oranges, caramel and sweet licorice with mild hoppy undertones of flowers and pine-needles. Full bodied with sweet sappy notes of oranges, berries, flowers and caramel with touches of nuts, alcohol and licorice. Long warming finish of nuts, alcohol, pine-needles, almonds and red berries.

Pours a clear red amber with a small off-white head. Mellow smells of metals and alcohol. Sweet and slightly dry. Aromas caramel and dates. Hint of oranges. Slightly cloying.

Bottle. As Ølfabrikken is one of my favourite breweries I might have prejudices that their brewer will have to deal with. I expect the best. Head is light brown, creamy and thick looking, promising. Body very dark brown and hazy. Relatively mild aroma without alcohol notes but more like sweet coffee plus vineous notes. Flavor quite different from my expectations. Coffee, yes, but very creamy and buttery but still with caramel and hops in the backgrond. Low carbonation and a long aftertaste. Ølfabrikken remains one of my favourites !

Dark amber colored, little light brown head. Sweet, lets say basic BW aroma with nice raisins and convenient alcohol, some hops try to come up. Medium to full bodied. Flavor is, again, strongly sweet and sugary, even makes my lips sticky. Also these same raisins here with caramel. Lasting aftertaste with nice, still mild hops. Too sweet.

250ml bottle. (Pikkulintu, Helsinki, Danish Days 2008)
Slightly hazy red/orange, small light head. Prominent hoppy aroma, sweet dark bread, touch of spices - maybe ginger. Soft carbonation. Massively succulent taste. So strong but so soft. Malty with a real tang, and the yeast brings a hint of marmite. Fantastic combination of tastes. The English barleywine style captured perfectly.

(Bottled) Very hazy darkish amber with a small, bubbly and lacy head. Dark-fruity, pretty grainy-malty, sweetish aroma. Smooth-malty, reasonably hoppy, grainy flavor with some NBE notes. Medium to full-bodied, bitter palate with lowish carbonation. Not that typical for a barley wine, but on the lighter side. Not bad, though.