Rock Art Ridge Runner Ale

Brewed by Rock Art Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Morrisville, Vermont USA

Dark ruby pour with 1-finger, splotchy white head. Aroma of tart malts, some fruit, berries, cabernet, brown sugar. The taste is muddled, with hints of roasty malt, fruit, berries, dark chocolate, and nutmeg. More like a red ale/brown ale hybrid than a barleywine, in my estimation.

(draft) Lightly hazed amber body with white head. Aroma is moderately sweet, cantalope, grapefruit, light spice. Taste is moderately sweet, cantalope, grapefruit, some berry, spice, faint alcohol. Medium body.

Bottle poured a clear dark brown with a long lasting amber head. Aromas of cocoa, a bit of coffee and some nuttiness. Palate was medium bodied and smooooth. Flavors of coffee, mocha, a hint of nuts with a smooth lingering finish. This is’nt a barleywine IMNTBHO, it’s more of an Impy brown, if they called it what it is I would probably rated it even higher.

Under-rated here, I think. Coffee-colored, light porter color, tight-bubbled tan head. taste chocolate milk, coffee, nuts, mild but assertive hop presence. Smooth coating finish. Brilliant.

[on tap at some Asian bisto in downtown Burlington, VT] Wow. Two things strike me when I see the numbers for this brew: the score and the style. I thought this was a standard 5% brown ale and enjoyed it very much: Nice red dark brown with a cllingy eggshell fuzz. The aroma was a melanoidiny malt with pine hops and sweet with nuts as well. Sweet caramel flavour with significant US hops and a nice nutty finish with low bitterness. Only a tad too sweet and also a bit of diacetyl at the end. Medium body with medium carbonation and smooth, but a bit mouth coating. I did enjoy drinking this one.

12 oz bottle. Thin white film of a head over a dark ruby colored body. Very thin looking, with heavy carbonation. Aroma is very faint, but I detect some caramel malt, toffee, and maybe a little alcohol. Some oxidation present, but other than that the only other flavor is a small amount of caramel malt and water. Palate is extremely watery with a chalky finish, and overcarbonated. Overall this is very blah and watered down. Like they made a decent Barley Wine and diluted it with twice the volume of water. Finished my 12 oz bottle with a series of large gulps. That is never a good sign for a BW. This is the worst Barley Wine I’ve ever had.

Rerate after no memory of rating this. Dark amber, moderate head with solid lacing and retention. Aroma is chocolate, caramel, darker fruits, lesser roast and hop notes. Very light bodied for a barley wine, fairly sweet but not overly so. More like an old ale to me.

Robe brune surmontée d’un pas de mousse... Arômes de pain grillé et de malt caramélisé. Saveurs de malt rôti et de houblon aromatique. Café, chocolat... Pas vraiment dans le style ni anglais ni américain...