Scuttlebutt Old No 1 (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

2004 Vintage: Poured a hazy brown with a ruby hue and small cream colored head. Big malty aroma is sweet with aged notes as well as dark fruit that is moslty raisin. The aroma is thick. Sweet malty and lightly fruity flavor. Some hops start to show their face at the end and then gives some bitterness on the finish. nice warming in the chest. Can taste some alcohol but there is enough malt to counter act it. Not the best bw I’ve had but not nearly as bad as the scores show. Flavor is not complex but is fine.

Bottle. Wow, this was a big letdown Tasts like an amber lager (Yeungling maybe?). Not @ all what I was expecting. Not good.

Bottle (2005) Courtesy of Styles. Aroma has lots of apricot, peach, toffee, and alcohol. Pours a reddish-orange with a touch of haze and an insignificant off-white head. Citrusy caramel up front with a grain y hop finish. Light alcohol flavor and warmth. Grainy flavors are really out of place.

2005 Vintage - This was a somewhat unbalanced, overly done barleywine. Aroma is sweet and hoppy, with a flavor that is full of candi and butterered bread. Slightly smoky, with a vinous, wood aged type of flavor too. I just could not get into this one.

Tap at the 2006 Hard Liver Festival. Unknown vintage. Amber beer with slight haze. Aroma is chewy, light cherry but the malts seem a bit dead. Flavour is leafy, some heavy woody/tobaccoish aroma. Flavour is sweet but balanced. Some toasty flavours as well. Dry leafy finish. Fairly hoppy.

Bottle, 2004 vintage 12.9% courtesy of Larry Pitonka: Pours a murky mahogany with a thin, wispy off-white head. Has an enticing, rich, complex malty sweet aroma with dark fruity complexity, and some plum and caramel notes. Body starts thin with some mildly sweet dark caramel, a touch of brown sugar and dark fruits before a warming thin finish. Body and flavor are let downs based on the promise of the aroma. This is over-attenuated, but could otherwise be a nice beer.

Bottled (2005 vintage, 11.9%). Clear reddish brown. Aroma of red berries and butterscotch. Sweet and vinous with full body and some citric hops. Medium bitterness.

Bottle 2005 @ OMH-tasting
Chocolate maltiness in aroma. Sweet, bitter and lightly sour, as in old ale. Warming alcohol. When warmed up there’s unfortunately a big appearance of apple skin. Without that it would have scored 4+. Now, I’m sorry, no hit.