Pelican Stormwatchers Winterfest 2007

Formerly brewed at Pelican Pub & Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Pacific City, Oregon USA

Bottle... C&P’sLYFO Throwdown... This beer rocks!... Pours very dark – reveals a deep mahogany hue when held up to the sun – small, creamy, beige head. So-so retention. Chocolaty, vinous aroma; specifically, tawny port. Ultra full-bodied and velvety with very subtle carbonation. Big, bad, hearty flavors of charcoal, espresso, chocolate and alcohol. Bittersweet and a touch acrid. Lengthy, very warm, boozy finish. Thanks to JMFG for sharing this bottle! * * Video = http://homepage.mac.com/maltajo/RATEBEER/iMovieThe

Dark auburn pour, no head, lost of pretty colors in the hues of this one. Lots of dark over ripe fruit, raisins, prunes, toffee, dark bread. Strong cloying sweetness, tones of raisins and dark fruit, toffee. A touch of floral and citrus hop flavors in the finish, but all sugars dominate the finish palate. Hot and boozey too. Man I was being a bitch at this tasting.

CPLYFO 09. JMFG hooks it up! Fuck yeah. This is one of the best BW’s I have ever had. Pours a deep reddish amber- mostly clear with a thin lasting head and good lace. Aroma is huge with just tons of malt and fruity esters, neither getting too over the top- well balanced- figs, prunes, raisin, pear, toffee, molasses, light hops. Hops come out a bit more in the flavor- but it is heavily skewed towards a huge smooth sweet BW- munich toasty and nutty malts, big caramel sweetness without the sharp dark stewed crystal- fruity all around, and alcohol is ridiculously hidden- I just noticed- this is 13%? wtf? I was worried it was going to be 9% with hos smoooth it was. Fuck! Awesome beer.

07 bottle, had this in October 08. Pours cloudy dark Amber/brown color with no head and minimal carbo. Sweet malty, dark fruit aroma w/ vanilla and caramel bustin through. The taste was the same. Sweet with nice malty flavors..My type of BW. Not good, Great!!

Sampled at the Hopsnobbery Collective barley wine tasting on 3.14.09. Dark brown pour with a medium tan head. Sweet and malty aroma with caramel and vanilla. Strong, but not unbearable boozy flavor with sugary malts and a bit of hop in the finish. Not noticing much difference between this one and the ’06, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Bomber, courtesy JMFG. The pour is a lightly hazy, dark caramel brown color with frothy tan head. A dense, sudsy wash leaves nice legging and bubbly, spotty lace behind. The nose shows rich chocolate, caramel, some buttery toffee, and notes of lactic, vanilla cream. Some hazelnut shows as well, followed by hints of dark fruit. Faded, earthen hops round out the complex and inviting aroma. Flavors show more decadent caramel, toffee, nougat, and chocolate, with some of the dark fruit seemingly dropping out. The earthy hops have dwindled away to near perfect levels, parking this brew in a delicious spot somewhere between a toasty, malty English style and a brash, hoppy American. The mouthfeel is chewy and smooth, almost lush, and almost completely void of any alcoholic burn or cloyingness. This is a damn fine barleywine that took me completely by surprise.

Sample at the Hopsnobbery Collective Barley Wine tasting on 03/14/2009: Thanks to Homerwantsbeer for sharing a bottle. This year’s version pours dark brown with a medium light tan head that recedes steadily. Thin rings of lacing slide down the glass slowly. Bready malt, dark fruit and caramel in the nose. Rich, syrupy body with flavors of toasted malt, caramel and moderately bitter hops. Warming alcohol is evident throughout. The finish is rich and fruity with malt and raisins left over. A solid Barley Wine overall.

Bottle from the Otown throwdown. JMFG hooks it up. Brown pour wtih a small light head. Aroma of eggplant(what?yeah!) Flavor starts a bit sweet and then goes bitter and finishes sweet again. Flavor has caramel, dates, raisins and some hops. Nice.