Smuttynose Barleywine Style Ale

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

Pours a cloudy bronze with little head. Aroma is pretty typical barleywine, highlighting brown sugar, maple, custard, caramel, milk chocolate. Quite an alcohol kick in the mouth, the coating and smooth otherwise. Contains a nice hop kick in the mouth, and good lasting bitterness. A very nice beer.

The smell of this beer is slightly alchoholic and caramel-like, and the color is deep amber. The taste is thick, rich, and smooth. It’s not too fizzy, and it has a clean finish with a slight, pleasant bite and malty tones.

At least a 2005 vintage bottle
Pours a brilliantly clear, ruby amber color that is toped by a frothy, one and a half finger thick light tan colored head. The aroma is rich and concentrated with notes of candied orange peel, toffee and caramel malts. The aroma is quite fruity once you explore it a bit more; notes of cherry, raisin, and a currant-like berry note are evident.

Ah, the taste has an omnipresent hoppiness to it. From the get go a gripping bitterness is present and it lingers on through to the finish, where it starts to become a bit more balanced by caramel malt notes. Sharp and biting with notes of menthol like pine that compliment the bitterness. There are some citrus notes noticeable as well, and this mix with a solid caramel malt note; the caramel note is more noticeable and makes one think of orange flavored caramels. Chewy, with a certain richness, yet not cloying. This beer is drinking really nicely, I was a bit wary of popping this tonight, but I am pleasantly surprised and really enjoying this beer right now.

So bitter. This was a good one (not great), but I got sick that night so I don’t think I’ll be drinking it again anytime soon.

Poured an amber color, slight copper hues, but not all that dark for a barleywine. The most impressive part of the appearance was the GREAT lacing, continuous (no rings). Really impressive at 10% levels. The aroma was mostly resinous and pine hops. The flavor followed suit with some caramel underneath, but no extreme fruit flavors or sweetness. A decent beer, but not overly complex or impressive. Mouthfeel was average for a barleywine, but well carbonated.

2006 Dark copper, sweet malty and fruity aroma. Full palate, sweet, malty, well hopped (first gold?) long bitter aftertaste. Alcohol is present there. Maybe the one I tried was a little too young, I should have waited a few months before tasting it.

Definitely a barley wine. Sweet nose. Good copper color with a small head that vanishes, leaving lacing behind. Taste of sweet caramel, malt, and alcohol, balanced with adequate west coast citrus hops but not strongly hopped. Warmly alcoholic but not unbalanced. Sweet but without the off-putting cherry / bubblegum. Like most barley wines, this one is too strong and too simple for me, but not bad. I like their wheat wiine much more.

2006 vintage - 22oz bottle via trade with porterhouse! - Thanks Kevin! - Pours copper with a short tan head that fades quickly to a ring and laces a little from there. Aroma is a nice sweet caramel with definite grapefruit and other fruity hops. Flavor is big and caramel sweet as well with a big grapefruit hop presence as well. Some pine there too. Couldn’t find the alcohol as I drank this bottle smooth in the mouth but also big and sweet but not cloyingly so. Pretty nice BW. I’m guessing it will age well if you can wait!