San Francisco Alexander Gunn Ale

Brewed by San Francisco Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
San Francisco, California USA

Tap @ SFBC. Clear copper color, short head. Aroma of malt, slight alcohol, bit fruity, brandy. Strong liquor like taste, sweet, barley winey. Very malty body. Obvious liquor. Quite nice, though it’s slightly off-balance.

On tap at the brewpub (May 2005 vintage). Outstanding medicinal aroma at first sniff. A bit of bubble gum aroma as well. As it warms and you swirl it, a pronounced verbena aroma emerges. Incredible flavor. This is an outrageously excellent beer. Served in a 6 oz wine tasting glass. Light amber in color with nearly no head. This is a surprising color for such a BIG barleywine. A slight chill haze is present. This batch punched 10% ABV. Thick chewy malt flavor that has an outstanding bubblegum mimetic. If you swirl this violently, you can produce a thin white head. Aroma of pancakes that have been generously buttered and syruped. Lots of heat and oh so thick. A perfect palate. A drying, chalky finish leaves you wanting more!

Tap @ 2004 Toronado Barley Wine Festival. Amber color with no head. A good strong alcohol aroma with dark fruits. Sour fruits in the flavor reminded me of a fine wine.

02.20.05 Tap at Toronado BWF Copper. Smells funky, bretty. Fruit cake and christmas, nutmeg, cream. A very nice experiment. Cloying. 3oz was almost too much of this great smelling beer cursed with a tiring flavor.

Clear amber coloured body with a thin white head. Nice ruby tint as well! Aroma of pure raisins with some other super sweet essences. Some hops sneak in too...a good addition. Medium-bodied; Piney spruce flavour with some mild sweetness and some light hops. Aftertaste clean but very sweet. A nice treat (more like a Christmas beer?) and a decent barley wine. I sampled this pint from draught at the San Francisco Brewing Company in downtown San Francisco, California on the second day of 10-June-2004...our first was spent in Sydney, Australia.

Copper-ruby body with a solid white head with rising bubbles. Quite attractive. Smells sweet: pine, vanilla, passion fruits, concord grapes, sugar and also cherries. Thick mouthfeel. Taste begins sweet but not overly so, with berries, vanilla, citrus and oak. Aftertaste demonstrates some hops, slightly roasted coffee. No alcohol apparent on palate, amazing for a barleywine of this caliber; this beer is put together extremely well. Sampled at the San Francisco Brewing Co brewpub in downtown sanfran while I was waiting for my chili. Life is sweet!

A nice copper color with a lovely white head. Some hint of fruit and nice aroma. The alcohol kicks you with the flavor. A very good Barley Wine to have if in San Francisco.