Pike Old Bawdy Barley Wine

Brewed by Pike Pub & Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Seattle, Washington USA

2008 release; Sampled December 2008
A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces almost two-fingers of frothy, tan colored foam. The beer is reddish amber color that shows a lightly hazed, orange / red tinged copper color when held up to the light and shows bubbles from the light carbonation struggling to rise up through this viscous brew. The aroma is sticky with residual malt sweetness, ample caramelized malt and some resinous, citrus focused hop character. Ample biscuit-like malt, whole grain cracker notes, touches of toffee, concentrated sweet tea and caramelized malt sugars play the leading role while hop notes of tangelo, touches of lychee, some pine needle notes and grapefruit take a secondary, supporting, but definitely quite noticeable role.

This beer is definitely thick and chewy; it has a viscous heft to it that allows it to stick to the palate initially, but a biting, ample, almost abrasive bitterness balances this out by scrubbing the palate clean of the sticky malt. The bitterness really lingers on the tongue for quite some time after a sip. The bitterness actually has a bit of green, hop astringency to it that makes it all that much more gripping. The crystal malt character contributes quite a bit to the flavor, but does not overwhelm or get too cloying; it does accentuate some citrus flavors from the hops though (grapefruit and orange zest). I like the clean, sweet, yet not cloying, lightly toasty, biscuit leaning malt character that this beer has up front.

Clearly this beer was meant to be aged, I like it fresh and aggressive though. It is quite smooth at the front of each sip with the sweet malt and citrus hop notes, but then the aggressive, scathing hop bitterness comes riding in and obliterates almost everything in its path. There is not a whole lot of complexity to this beer right now, but I have a feeling that it will pick up more of this as it mellows and ages for a couple years; I am not sure I will like it better that way though. There is only one way to find out.

Vintage 2006 from the brewery. I haven’t had this one before, so I don’t know how it compares to more recent vintages, but the is fantastic. Looks gorgeous, practically glowing. Absolutely no head, as expected. Mellow for a barley wine, I assume the age has something to do with that. Tastes toasty with a decent amount of alcohol in the finish. Smells sweet and tasty.

12oz. bottle, 2006 vintage. Only a faint hiss of escaping gas as the bottle is cracked. Strong aroma of toasted caramel malt sweetness with lighter notes of raisin and honey along with a touch of citrus and alcohol. Deep amber color, the faint head quickly subsiding entirely. Flavor is again strongly malty and sweet, with dark brown sugar and toasted, nearly roasted malt character in fact, and lighter additions of spicy hop bitterness, dried fruits and peppery, medicinal alcohol. Palate is smooth and sturdy, body is certainly full enough. This is one Ive been wanting to try for quite some time, it sure would be interesting to have some other vintage or a fresh bottle for the sake of comparison, younger bottles showing a much different hop profile, no doubt, if the 90 IBUs on the bottle is any measure.

Bright amber with small white head. Aroma of flowers, hops, malt. Nice bitter flavor throughout, especially apparent in the finish. Like an IPA but darker and more mellow. A winner.

Pours a cloudy dark brown, with a small off white head. Smells of typical barley wine notes, lots of caramel and bready yeast, hops, and dark fruits. The flavor was also typical barley wine characters, with alot of the same flavors as in the nose. Lightly sweet and stingy from the alcohol on the palate, but not a monster. Light hop bitterness is apparent in the finish and lingering aftertaste. Just another run of the mill decent barley wine for me.

Rated 11/29/2008 (botte labeled 2007): Pours a reddish brown color body, somewhat cloudy body, with a little tan head, somewhat creamy looking. Malty syrupy sweet aroma. Bitter in the nose along with the sickly sweet. Malty soy saucy taste. Some nuttiness. A little smoother in the taste. Some smokiness too. Carbonated, somewhat creamy taste. Some grapefruit.

Deep ruby pour with minimal head. A dusty, figgy flavor coupled with a light bittering finish and an alcohol warming presence. A little on the caramel fruitiness which gives a slight puckering sweetness. Good brew, better for bedtime.

Good barley wine. Little alcohol/boozy flavor but little cherry flavor too. Pretty sweet though but I guess that’s OK. Very drinkable & smooth.