Rock Art Ridge Runner Ale

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

Pours a mahogany colour with a thin white head. Aromas of sweet malt. Thin mouthfeeel for a barley wine. Nice malt taste but not anything special.

10/08/07 Lacked character and any resemblance to a barley wine. Seemed watery. Even the aromas seemed a bit thinned out. Not a good experience.

Darkest ruby/brown with a small, frothy, off white top. Chocolatey malt, caramel bread, and a bit of piney hops. Medium body, balanced. Too light for a barleywine.

12oz bottle (thanks Dusty!)...I’ll admit it, this is my first barley wine...pours a dark copper-red...sweet smell of malt and plum...similar taste...alcohol was well hidden at 7.5%...this went down fast...quite drinkable...good, but I expected something a bit more robust from a barley wine.

(Bottle from <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/vermont/woodsto target=blank>Gillingham’s) Unfortunately pretty bland...Pours darker-than-normal-for-style red-amber brown, rather clear. One finger of biege head. Aroma is rather weak rock-candy malt sweetness, light vanilla, bit of bitter pine. Mouthfeel fairly thin and prickly. Fairly nice light rings of lacing. Flavor is light candy malt sweetness and bit of bitterness through finish. No hint of alcohol. Nothing objectionable but too timid and watery to be a good barleywine.

Pleasant sweet bread dough aroma; at times I smell rootbeer, other times I smell chocolate milk. No hint of what lurks within. Looks like root beer. Creamy head. Taste is heavy and bitter. Coats your mouth with what seems to be grapefruit rinds, but not quite that pure. Alky malt bitterness is prevalent. Pretty good creamy carbonation., turns an otherwise disappointing brew into something special.It’s like I’m eating bread that has been soaked in really good wine. I can see the streams inside the brew, quite pleasing. Medium medicinal bitter flavor lingers for awhile after the last sip. Not bad for a bready barley wine. Thanks to JJPM74 for getting this for me. Most enjoyable BW yet!

Poured a clear mahogany color with a lrge beige head. The aroma is semi-sweet and fruity. Also notes of caramel and earthy hops. The flavor is mildly sweet with light fruit and caramel malt. Some hops toward the finish. The finish thins out leaving a semi-dry bitterness. Light-medium body.

Light for a Barley Wine, has more of an English feel to it despite the hops they used. Heavy on sweet malty tones, with nothing too complex. I expect something a little more heavy hitting from the style, but if you go into it without expectations it could be nice and drinkable.