Rock Art Vermonster

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

Pours a two finger cream head that fades quickly to a thin layer, leaving some lace. Hazy deep amber color. Medium carbonation and medium bodied. Slight caramel nose. Flavor is sweet caramel with a bite. Some bitterness at finish. Much better than their Ridge Runner Barley Wine. Higher ABV hidden. $4.85 for a 22oz bottle from Gillingham’s Woodstock, VT.

22 oz bomber. Deep amber, with ruby highlights and a medium lasting head. Aroma is sweet with alot of caramel as well as alot of earthy and citrus hops. Alcohol is definitely perceivable and moderate in the aroma. Taste is very malty, with caramel and some fruit. This is also very hoppy with orange, grapefruit rind, moderately earthy, and the hops get very astringent near the finish. Alcohol is moderate and becomes even a bit stronger in the finish. This one seems to need more time for the rough edges to smooth out.

20080828 bomber from Red Bank Spirits. Dark amber color with large, lasting beige head. Aroma is sweet and very hoppy with hints of marzipan, apricot, herb blend, alcohol, and some cat pee. First impression was a good one, but this beer gets tedious (though not cloying) and really comes apart with temp. Palate is full, sharply astringent from hops and abundance of alcohol. Although harsh, the big hops are what will get me to actually finish all 22oz of this brew.

22 oz. bottle bought on a weekend excursion to Vermont. Pours a Deep hazy brown with a healthy off white head. Spotty lacing. Aroma is sweet malt with a pine hop background. Sweet nose is not transferred to the taste as this is primarily a bitter brew with a hop dominance. Could be a little sweeter and heavier. Ok, so it’s not Behemoth, but it’s a pretty good brew.

22 oz bomber. Deep brown, fairly cloudy beer with a very thick sticky off-white head. Aroma is sweet and rich. Herbal and a little bit of orange marmalade and stone fruit as well. It’s also got a strange sweetness with a touch of caramel and fruit. It’s quite bitter and a little bit strange. Just like the last time, the aroma is much nicer than the flavour. Quite bitter and chewy with a sticky finish. It’s better than I recall, but still not all that good. 22 oz bomber. Deep brown beer topped by a thick white head. Aroma is quite nice, sweet with a dark nutty maltiness. There is a prominent, but indistinct hoppiness. Lightly herbal but it really tastes like bittering hops that were used for flavour additions. Nice sweet tasting malts but they lack complexity as well. Sort of a dank chewy hop flavour over sweet toasted malts. Noble-type hoppiness. This might age well, but right now, it’s kind of indistinct, bland and messy. 6 3 6 2 11

22oz bottle: Bottle conditioned. Pours to a slightly hazy dark amber colored body with a large tan head. The aroma is sweet, cloying caramel, sugar, light citrus & grapefruit hops, mild pine, hints of darker malts. Taste is bitter citrus/grapefruit hops up front, sweet caramel and malts, with a bit of an alcohol burn towards the middle, hitting some lemon, yeast, bread, and retronasal hops in the finish. Medium bodied, medium carbonation. A decent barleywine that will age well...would like to see this with a bit more chewy malt background.

Courtesy Growler. Pours a semi-clear dark copper color, with a small light tan head. Smells of big bready yeast, dark sweet caramel, and dark fruit. Standard aroma. The flavor was also pretty yeasty, with some hop bitterness, bread, and malt all together. tastes like your typical barley wine, nothing new and exciting here. Drinkable, but unintersting.

Objectively speaking: A rather unpolished beefy ale with more hop exageration than finesse.
I like: Pretty appearance, generous head for a ‘monster’ beer. Obvious alcohol presence does not really disturb. It fits the rest.
I dislike: Rough edges, rather harsh hops of the astringent type and fairly acidic for a barley wine. Quite thick, but not very deep in maltiness.