Pike Old Bawdy Barley Wine

12 oz. 2006 vintage bottle courtesy of msubulldog2. Nice light orange color with a sweet candy smell, hoppy. Some fruity candy taste with a slight hoppy finish. Citrusy flavors are also present. This is a good American barleywine that is very mellow and easy to drink, no alcohol flavors, nice. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 02-29-2008 06:52:47

’98 bottle thanks to Trevor211!
Pours muddy tan-red, pretty lifeless, murky, and depressing, no real head to speak of. Nose is malt driven, lots of raisin and caramel, some dry leaf notes as well. Flavor is sweet, some raisin, burnt toast, slight alcohol. Thin, 11 year old palate, slightly sticky, but not drawn out given the age. Pretty enjoyable stuff, and I’ll always go for these aged malt-heavy barley wines. That said, the ‘98 JW Lees has this pretty handily in the malt complexity.

2006 bottle, consumed April 2009. Pours an ultra-cloudy, rusty orange- down color. A small head of frothy, bubbly, off white foam leaves tattered ribbon lacing and sugary spotting on the glass. The nose shows a sweet and buttery toffee and caramel malt profile, with hints of hazelnut, pecan, and golden raisin. Bitter earth and candied orange peel hops balance things out a bit. Flavors are sweet with toffee, apple, raisin, yet sufficiently countered by staunch floral, earthy, citrus hops. Big and lightly syrupy on the tongue, with moderate carbonation, there’s plenty of substance, but it’s fairly alcoholic on the finish. Pretty solid barleywine.

2006 bottle sampled 4/21/2009. Slightly hazy copper color with no head, just a thin ring of bubble aroung the edge of the glass. Aroma of caramel, cherry, brown sugar, honey, wood, and a slight twinge of alcohol. Flavor of caramel, cedar, honey. I didn’t detect much of the peat smoked malt at all. The aroma had me thinking this one was going to be cloying, but it is balanced well by the resinous hops in the finish. Very little carbonation, thick, syrupy body.

2007 bottle, 22oz. Pours hazy brownish amber, capped with a medium sized tan head. Aroma is heavy on malt, with notes of earth and peat. Very appealing aroma. Flavor begins with some peat, which is soon joined by caramel malt, toffee, grass, smoke, and mild cocoa. Grapefruit and other citrus fruits hit the palate towards the finish. Citrus and mild peat cling to the palate for a lengthy finish. Nice

Nice brown, not head. Aroma is caramel, toffee, light alcohol. Taste is a faint hoppiness, toffee, alcohol, nice and mellow.

Vertical Tasting @ Pike Brewery - February 8, 2009
1994: clear, range and float; dank fruit, sugary, delightful nose; warm, fuzzy, sugary, musky; very nicely aged
1996: clear, dark brown; drinks dry with a touch of smoke; sugar is super dry; smoke on the nose; completely different than the 1994
1997: clear, dark orange; sugar and stale hops; syrupy sweet texture; a little hot and very sweet overall
2006: clear, rosey bornw; touch of smoke here as there was in the 1996; maple, sugar, peaty; slight syrupy texture; pretty much perfect
2007: dark orange and only one with a head that lasted more than a few moments; sugar, grassy hops; lemony sweet; an oddball in the group; different recipe?
2008: dark amber, sweet and hoppy; light bodied and seems quite simple compared to the other vintages
Overall: a few different recipies here for sure just based on color alone; the 2006 and 1996 were quite similar and were my favs; the 2006 slightly in more balance and the 1996 was sweeter in the finish; smoke was complementary and really grew on me

2007, on tap. I didn’t pick much up from the aroma: a bit malty with mild metallic notes. Impressive appearance: deep amber with a thick, creamy white head. The flavor is slightly sweet and malty, and notably crisp and bitter for a barley wine. Not remotely cloying or syrupy. Nice.