Ølfabrikken Barleywine

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

Bottle. [thank you, faroeviking]
Pours a beautiful, hazy deep red with an impressive creamy yellowish head on top. Incredibly complex aroma. Very fruity and nutty. Hazel nuts, figs, apples, caramel, raisins, cascade hops, port, lightly roasted toffee. Just wonderful. Rather sweet, but not too much. Alcohol is well hidden beneath all the things that assault my nose. Mouthfeel has a good, subdued liveliness to it, making the beer rather fresh in character. Flavour is sweet caramel at first, then a touch of vanilla, the hazel nuts again, hoppy bitterness. Touches of toffee, chocolate, port and grapes/apples again. Long, warming aftertaste. This feels like nowhere near 11 %. Really good barley wine, and probably the best I’ve had (ever).

It’s very beautiful, red mahogany and the head is huge, nice, dense and creamy. The aroma has sweetness and notes of roasted malt, raisins, dark fruits and lots of fruity hops. The flavour has sweetness, notes of roasted malt, raisin, dark fruits, candy sugar, caramel and loads of fruity hops, that gives a citrussy, crisp, light bitterness. It’s delightful and it hides the alcohol very well.

Tasted 2008-02-28. 4 months old. Pours almost clear dark red with a light brown head. Aroma: Hops, malty, fruity, nutty. Flavours: Sweet caramel, strong bitterness. Burned sugar. Full body. Very tasty!

bottle from bu11zeye. deep amber pour with a tiny bit of froth. hops, sweet malts, alcohol, pepper and wood on the nose. very smooth on the palate with a great flavor of fruits, sugar and vanilla.

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.

[Bottle, thanks for sending this over, Marsiblursi!] Pours reddish-amber with a small off-white head. Aroma is big on fruit, but balanced with a good deal of hops, a decent amount of yeast, and some maltiness in the background. The taste is slightly bitter up front, but then it really mellows out and becomes quite sweet and fruity (I couldn’t place it exactly in the taste or aroma, but at times it seemed like pineapple). The malt is blended in nicely, as it shows up primarily towards the finish. Good thick mouthfeel with a long finish. A very nice barley wine that I can hopefully try again some time.

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 !

Bottle. [Only Danish beers session @ Myrup’s, thanks for a great evening Peter] Large thick creamy beige head that really lasted. Excellent lacework. Muddy amber colour. The initial sniff revels a very American inspired Barley Wine with heavy notes of malt and hops in perfect harmony. Floral, pine, grapefruit. Over the palate heavy fruit and port wine like notes with apricot and peach. Also what I felt was melon and nuts. Quit complex. Full bodied with an average carbonation and light dry / thick texture. Moderated to heavy sweet and balanced bitter flavour. Dry and sweet and yet bitter lingering finish with a fruity ending. Impressive! 8 / 4 / 8 / 4 / 17