Pike Old Bawdy Barley Wine

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

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.

2006 vintage. I’ve had several year-old beers, but never one three years old. Opens with slight spud and pours with huge sweet apricot/tangerine aroma. Very lively aroma with some cotton candy and alcohol too. Flavor comes on like it’s going to be gigantic, but then lets off very smooth. Sweet caramel and hints of old smoke mix like a tapestry with the aged deep orange ripe fruits. Wow, a true beer experience...I need to get some more vintage barleywines. Makes me want to brew something big.

Can’t believe I haven’t rated this one, and I’m starting out with a doozy of a vintage. 1998 bottle I picked up at Bottleworks - an 11-year-old barley wine. Poured a dark ruddy amber with a slow-forming, smallish head. Nose is remarkably similar to something like Samichlaus - ripe fruits, sweet caramel malts, some brandy and maybe a bit of bourbon. Sooo mellow, sooo smooth - the flavors have melded together beautifully during all these years in Bottleworks’ cellar. Slightly smoky, with some definite notes of peat, and the hop backbone comes through in the flavor, but it’s just enough to keep the brew from being too sweet - there’s nothing sharp or acerbic about it. I’m falling in love with this more with every sip - tastes nowhere near 10%. Velvety smooth. I’d strongly encourage everyone to grab a few bottles of this year’s brew (there actually seems to be a bunch of ’06 still wandering around on store shelves) and aging it for a good long while - this is great stuff. I’d imagine I’ll re-rate this with a slightly lower score once I try a fresher version... but who knows.

Bottled, 2007. Hazy orange golden color, short head. Aroma of malt, hop, caramel, slight fruity. Firm malty body. Good stuff.

2006 bottle. Wonderful vinuous sweet aroma, vanilla and oak, raisins, toffee and alcohol, butterscotch. Vapors and chocolate with light fruity hops. Quite and intense nose. Coppery-ruby-orange clear with light chunks, and thin off-white lacing head. Heavy watery full bodies, with light carbonation. Starts sweet with rich and malty sugary-ness, vanilla and chocolate and oak. Brown sugar, toffee, and alcohol warming. Mild to medium bitter finish with good sweetness. Bitter after with light sweet character. Nice barley wine, aged nicely. Want more.

12oz bottle from kp. Thanks Keith! Hazy reddish orange. Big sweet crystal malt, cherry and cedar in the nose. Smooth, oily, thick, woody and nutty and still retaining some very fresh tasting raspberry and other fruit. Fantastic barley wine that tastes well aged.

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

#1800, bottle. Warm wet barley grain aroma. Orange body with thin head. Had a fruity presence along with some moderate sweet chewy malted barley grain. Cigar aftertaste left on plate. Smooth enjoyable brew. Ms. Claus got me this one for me for a Christmas Present.