Pacific Coast Code Blue Barley Wine

Brewed by Pacific Coast Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Oakland, California USA

02.20.05 Tap at Toronado BWF Big bubbles over and throughout a dark brown beer. Smells buttery, maybe a bit oxidized. Vanilla and oakey. Light biscuit. Sweet. Little heat or hops. Raisin and fig. So-so but quite drinkable.

2/21/04. On cask at Toronado Barley Wine Festival ’04 in San Francisco, CA 2/21/04. 2002 Vintage. Pours a cloudy dark amber-brown with a slight, lumpy head. Great head retention. Tan in color. Aroma is creamy, sweetly woody and caramelly. Almost like a caramelized vegetable. Flavor is sweet and twiggy. Pretty nice. Body is a bit fat and flat, cool and not terribly exciting, but complements the flavors very nicely. Finish is very smooth, long, and elegant. Subdued twigginess comes out beneath the luscious buttery sweetness and contradictory overall dryness. Bitter on the back end. Very layered, even with a bit of a gingerbread hint. Quite a good beer.

Tap @ Toronado Barley Wine Festival. Mahogany color with a brown laced head. Lots of hops, a nice spice with cinnamon, ginger, and sweet. Re-Rate - Bottle (vintage, bottled on 2/24/98, sampled on 11/27/03) (8 3 7 4 16). The aroma has caramel, apples, raisins, and alcohol. Smooth, malty, caramel flavors.

On tap at the 2003 Toronado Barleywine Festival: Kinda funky. Tastes like mediocre homebrew. Thin. Quite one-dimensional.

That’s a very unique nose -- it smells like the American diner, Denny’s. Toasty, potato and sweet carmel. Taste is malty and sugary with those banana fruit esters I’ve had with other beers here tonight.