Pike Old Bawdy Barley Wine

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

12-oz. Pours a still-looking dark coppery amber with a somewhat weak-looking and thin off-white head. Lots of clingy lace. Disappointingly restrained nose--have to really dig in to pick up faint whiffs of red tree fruit and caramel. Moderate attack; slightly oily body, light carb, and assertive flavors. Nothing earth-shattering for a BW. Mid-palate is a nice mix of tangy, husky malty caramel and some nuttiness that seems to come out of the meld with the piney hop. Big tangy caramel and bitter pine finish. Liking it, but not jumping up and down.

Re-rated August 08 from a 1998 bottle. 10 years on it from the time of Fal’s employ is definitely the way to drink this beer, and the numbers apply only to this part of the notes.
Crystal clear dark amber. Headless, laceless. Big soy, biscuit, and dark wood nose. Big oily flat body. Super woody mid-palate. Bitter resin, tobacco, and leather too. Long woody finish. Wood, tobacco, and leather aren’t the newest additions to a well-aged barleywine’s flavor profile or anything, but this is beautifully crafted, delicious, and deserves a ton of credit.

Bouteille de 22 oz partagée lors d’une dégustation Ratebeer Montréal chez MartinT. Arôme: Odeur de caramel fruité avec une pointe d’houblons. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée légèrement voilée. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel fruité et d’houblons résineux avec une pointe d’alcool. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence de caramel en arrière goût. (Rating #2587)

2006 version bottle at the brewery. Pours a nice gold color with a head that disappears. Aroma is sweet and fruity, caramel malts, and brown sugar, with huge floral hops too. Sweet caramel malts and brown sugar up front with big balancing bitterness that is both floral and aspiriny. Lingering bitter hops even for being 2 yrs old. Only a little alcohol. I enjoyed this one alot.

12/02/06 Walk the Line Barleywine Festival, Dunedin, FL. 1998 vintage. Poured a clear copper color with an off white head. The aroma was sweet and a bit fruity. Smells like a Barleywine. This beer has a nice Barleywine flavor too with a dark fruitiness, caramel malts and a hint of pine hops. The flavor seems to end with a bit of a woody character.

22oz. Bottle (2007): Aroma of hops, pine, sugary malts, slight citrus, slight caramel, light resin, and a hint of alcohol. Poured deep amber/slight brown/copper in color with a small, creamy, tan head that diminished but lasted as a film on top of the beer. Cloudy. Not sparkling. Full of tiny, small, and medium-sized particles throughout. Small lacing. Complex flavor is lightly sweet and medium to heavy bitter. Tastes of hops, resin, pine, slight smoke, malts, toffee, light molasses, slight dark ripe fruit, slight caramel, slight citrus, slight wood, and a hint of alcohol. Medium body. Viscous, then dry texture. Average carbonation. Hops, pine, malts, slight caramel, and hint of alcohol finish is dry. 10%ABV is well hidden though noticeable.

Bottle from someone. Yuck. Astringent, burning, powerful bitter hops, a body of gasoline and windex. And this is already 2 years old! Smells kind of like french fries. Pour is ridiculously fizzy, bubbles sticking to the walls of the glass like pepsi. Blech.

[1099-20080216] Tap @ Pike brewpub (Seattle, WA). Boozy pineapple yeast aroma has a tinge of mango. Clear, amber brown body with a quick foamy off-white head. Bready mango pineapple malt flavour is quite boozy. Medium-full body. Nice kick!

Bottle (1998): Caramel in color, hazy, small off-white fizzy head, spotty lacing.   Sweet caramel malt nose... not much hop presence after all these years.   Sweet malty start, caramel and toffee, with a noticable floral like back end.   Seems to have mellowed out over the years, but it has held up rather well.   I wish I had more of this!   Medium to full body and mouthfeel.   Clean finish, lingering sweetness with a touch of that floral aspect.   Perhaps even a bit citrusy as well.   Quite tasty!   Oh how I love these impromptu back room tastings at Bottleworks.