Rock Art Vermonster

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

1 inch plus head from a vigorous pour. Very dense head of tan bubbles. Big hoppy aroma with lots of pine, caramel malts and some dark fruit. Color is a nice crimson brown. Strong roasty flavor up front then the hops slap you across the face. Moderate bitterness but very dry, almost to a point of being chalky. Very resinous and piney with some nutty qualities and brown sugar. Medium bodied with plenty of sticky malts. Finishes sweet and bitter with lots of lingering pine again. A pretty good barleywine but maybe one that I should have let sit for a while longer.

On tap at Papago. Looks like a local beer by the label - would have never thought this to be from Vermont aside from the name. Pours a murky plum color with a firm beige head. Smells of brown sugar and rubbing alcohol. Tastes of milk cocoa, caramel, dates, and mild hops. Not bad at all.

Pours a thick amber color with tan head. Aromas are brown sugar and dates. Flavors continue with the dark fruits and some caramel. This is a good, but fairly standard barleywine. If it were available locally, I might drink it regularly.

Bottle shared by GodOfThunder. Pours copper color with off white head. Sweet malty aromas with nice hoppiness. Bitter hoppiness up front with a sweet caramel, fruit, citrus finish. Medium to full body with moderate carbonation.

Medium body. Caramel and bit of plumb. Already mellow for a fairly young barley wine. Enjoyable all around and not overpowering.

Courtesy GodOfThuner. Pours a clear copper color with a small, bubbly, cream colored head. Minimal, spotty lacing marks the glass. Aromas of caramel, vanilla, and dark fruit are countered with spicy-sweet notes of orange marmalade and apricot with citrus rind. Flavors too strike a nice balance, brown sugar malts and caramel countered with strong orange and grapefruit hop notes. Finishes quite bitter and lingering. Medium-full bodied with balanced carbonation, the mouthfeel is sweet and syrupy up front moving towards dry on the finish. Drinks easy for a 10% ABV beer. Nice stuff.

This poured dark copper to brown in color with a moderate light beige fluffy head. The nose was filled with citrus pulp, caramel, milk chocolate and spice. In the mouth it is medium-bodied with lots of fine carbonation keeping this fresh. The midpalate has nice depth and richness if not coming off rather simple at this point.

Hazy copper brown. Deep caramel with a grapefruit resin hop. Heavy caramel flavors, vaguely fruity, with a spicy hop finish.