Scuttlebutt Old No 1 (Vintages 2004 and later)

Brewed by Scuttlebutt Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Everett, Washington USA

Bottle: Ruby mahogany, light foamy head. Nose of bright hot alcohol and strawberry along with some other dark chewy fruits and light hop. The flavor is dusty with a woody chewy raisin malt note and a fairly acidic hoppy alcohol bite. Finishes chewy and creamy, hot, but warm with lots more raisin and umami. Light wood and smoke in the tail. Doesn’t really come together and it’s pretty strong in the nose and the finish.

12oz bottle - 2007ish Very dark, looks like motor oil, I can’t see through the glass. Fruity aromas, no head whatsover. High alcohol but not as apparent as I thought. Flavors are all over the place and lingering aftertaste stays with you.

2005 vintage. Pours a slightly hazedamber with a tan head, thinning to a razor thin film in no time. Looks like a barleywine... doesn’t smell like one though. Sweet malt, alcohol, sure, but there’s a bit of something somewhere between a juniper berry and a musty ass crack. Some other miscellaneous fruits, but I didn’t keep my nose in this for too long. About average palate for a barleywine. Not thin, not over carbonated, not syrupy, but not outstanding still. The flavors are a bit better than the nose, most notably, the musty asscrack is barely there. Fruity alcoholic caramel malt. A bit of toast, but cleanly done. Big berries, most of the raspberry variety, but also a bit of juniper again. A bit astringent. Fruity alcoholic finish with a dry lingering tannic aftertaste. The smell was just so offputting for me, I couldn’t get past it.

Bottled. Orange coloured. Uncelar. Light brown head. Alcohol, fruits, herbs and some berries in the aroma. FLavour as well is full of fruits and berries. Alchol notable. Medium bodied. Dry. Full of berries and alcohol in the end.

Bottle. Bottle. Ruby colour with a big beige head. Sweet caramel malty, fruity and light sour aroma and taste. Medium to full body with a light sour and alcoholic finish.

Bottled. A hazy amber beer with a thin beige head. The aroma is sweet malty with light roasted notes, as well as alcohol and caramel. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of caramel and alcohol, as well as light notes of hops, leading to a medium bitter end. The alcohol burns the side of the tongue.

Vintage 2005. Bottled. Hazy reddish coloured. Sweet fruits and berries in the aroma with notes of alcohol and toffee. Very sweet flavour of dark ripe fruits and toffee. Slightly oxidized. Medium bodied.

Chestnut, clear; no real head. Cherry-like alcohol nose, alcohol and fusels. Very malty taste with higher alcohols. Surprisingly rich & aromatic character for some moments. Aggressive alcoholic & burning malts MF, slick, viscous nearly. This is all fireworks: it sparkles, thunders and shouts, but then it’s a black empty sky again. The palate is good enough, but it wants to impose too much.