Pike Old Bawdy Barley Wine

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

Although this great resurrected brew is still a bit young, the aroma is very complex, and full of nuance...rosewater, and jasmine tea, with caramel, and hops coming in right after. The body is creamy, and reminiscent of Worther’s Originals toffee, and there is more of the rosewater, and jasmine flavor, along with caramel, and plenty of hops (although the hoppiness stops short of being overbearing). There is also a citrus thing going on, particularly grapefruit, and mandarin orange, as well as a more brown fruit character (dates, figs), as well as persimmons. Wonderfully aggressive beer now, but will doubtlessly fuse, and mellow down the road.

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.

Cloudy, dark gold pour with short pale head. Very sweet with cognac, chocolate and raisin flavours. Good body. Clean, hoppy finish, no lace. A shade more hops and it would rival Bigfoot!

Bottle @ tasting by jbrus. A clear light brown colored beer, with a beige head. The aroma of caramel with hop bitters. It’s fruity like orange and citrus. The taste of malts, hop bitters and fruits like citrus. It’s spicey. The aftertaste is fruity with bitters and a little sweet.

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.

Bottle@UDRM, vintage 2007. Beautiful balanced, malty, fruity Barley Wine. Besides that the necessary hops are present. This makes it balanced, flavourful and for a Barley Wine highly drinkable.

My sample was 2 years old. Nut brown and thick. VERY malty, complex and well balanced. Great beer!

Bottle@UDRM. Tnx Jbrus! Vintage 2007. Aroma is hoppy, citric and has caramel maltiness. Clear, orange-brown coloured beer with no head. The taste is bitter, sweet, has citrus, sugar/caramel and hops. Siruppy texture. Decent body.