Smuttynose Barleywine Style Ale

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

2007 Bottle - Thanks phhd! - Pours a reddish amber with a small off white head...aroma is massive, hop flowers grand marnier, burned my nose hair a bit, citrus malt...flavour is similar, malty but dry, pine resin, coats the mouth like a syrup...burn on the back end that screams for just a few more years in the bottle...wish I had more...

22oz 2007 bottle courtesy of UncleJedi, thank you very much! I always like to put my nose to the bottle immediately after opening and this one gave me a blast of hops that made em smile and transitioned into orange and toffee. The smells from my snifter are more citrus and toffee but not too hoppy. There are also a slight bit of alcohol fumes. The color is a nice red-orange and looks like an Ameican style barleywine to me. The taste is very nice, hoppy, chewy, bitterness that is nice! The second sip makes me think of bubblegum. This is a nice barleywine and almost seems West Coast like Bigfoot. Smuttynose is a brewery I don’t hear a lot about but all of their beers have been very good. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 04-08-2008 02:21:34

22 oz. bottle - november ’07 release; thanks to biegaman for the trade a while back; pours clear, dark orange with foamy tan head fading to small bubbles around the edges; just a beauty; sweet aromas of sugar, spicy hops, alcohol, herbs, dank fruit; drinks very nice with a slight syrup quality to it; very smooth w/ minor touch of heat; a little citrus with mild brown sugar; flavor a little on the light side, but this is a lovely sipper

A little syrupy, bitey hops. Notes of raisin and caramel. This one really didn’t wow me, but it was okay for a barley wine.

Sweet aroma, malty, fruity, like raisins, plums. Very attractive ruby color,clear, modest white head, relatively low carbonation. Nice flavor, starts as caramel, candy sugar, some evidence of piney hops as it moves toward the back of the mouth. Nice lingering piney hop bitterness on the finish. This style can have a thick or oily mouthfeel, but that is not in evidence here. The mouthfeel is simply medium in thickness and texture. Very enjoyable Barley Wine overall.

Pours a cloudy copper topped by medium beige head. Aroma is medium sweet, piney, some biscuit, toffee and light caramel. Flavor has a nice strong malt backbone, caramel, dark fruit and grapefruit. Finishes long and sweet with a slight alcohol burn.. Full bodied, resiny texture.

Bomber, about a year old. Opened with little fanfare and poured hazy medium orange with only a few loose bubbles around the edges for head. The aroma picked up toffee and darker fruits paired with a warm almost rye-like character and deep herbal hoppage. The flavor had well-aged caramel with a toasty, aged Scotch-like feel supporting mild fruity and floral notes around.. peppery alcohol was present throughout and stuck to caramel and toffee on the finish. Syrupy on the palate with low carbonation and lots of lingering warmth and bitterness on the finish.. no serious flaws here, but nothing great either.

22oz bomber closet aged for 2+ years. Thick, murky, orange-brown color with some patchy white lace for a head. Alcohol-laced caramel aroma. The flavor is sugary sweet and buttery, shows some aging. The low almost flat lost carbonation hurts the beer a little, taking away the drinkable balance it had fresh. Not one to age out for extended periods. Woody, piny hops, syrupy sweetness. Good stuff, but way better fresh.