Smuttynose Barleywine Style Ale

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

Bottle from 2004 @ Akkurat, Stockholm. Pours a slightly hazy orange color with an off-white head. Malty chocolate aroma with some hoppy hints. Sweet malty warming chocolate and caramel flavor with some hoppy hints. Sweet malty warming milk-chocolate finish with some hoppy hints in the aftertaste.

Pours dark copper/ruby, with a big, creamy off-white head. Aroma of malt, hops, fruit. Not as strong or pronounced in aroma as the Stone OG or JW Lees. Tastes malty, with big hops, some sour dark fruit. Palate is medium and firm, with a slightly sour finish. As far as I’m concerned, this one is more like an I2PA (similar to Avery Hog Heaven). As an I2PA, I’d rate it around a 3.9-4.0....as a barleywine, I stand behind my 3.7 score......which is still a very good score.

A hazy dark amber ale with a thick light moka head. Rather strong alcohol in aroma, almost too much and unidimensional, with light biscuitty malt. In mouth, an overly strong barley wine, with warming alcohol, british hopping, light citrus orange, but overall, a bit unbalanced and astringent. This agressive barley wine is not my favorite.

Head is initially small, frothy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy dark amber. Aroma is moderately malty (cookie, caramel), lightly hoppy (resin), with a strong note of sherry. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, heavily bitter. Medium to full body, watery texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic. Excessive oxidation hurts this one a bit, rather dull overall, lotsa alcohol in the finish. Not a fan.

Very still, almost no head to start with, deep burgundy hue. Nose of strawberries, cherries, and alcohol, pleasant and odd. Very hoppy right from the beginning, also rather syrupy. Bitterness does not have enough counteracting malt, and as VENOM mentions there is a medicinal/cough medicine quality that is not quite right. Finish is extremely bitter and rather harsh. I am not impressed.

Original rating (2-Jun-04 - 9-3-8-4-16=4.0): Sherry, marzipan, fruity (grape, plum, raisin, date), burnt caramel ina complex symphony of aromas with alcohol conducting. Citrusy hops spar with caramel, toffee malt flavours as fruits observe until the roasty, mildly bitter finish. Mouthfeel is decadent and liqueur-like. Medium-full body. Fairly still, but enough carbonation to keep it interesting on the tongue. Amber-brown with off-white head that diminishes to ring. Excellent balance. Bottle (enjoyed with beerbuzzmontreal, MartinT and Rastacouere).

Re-rate (16-Jan-05 7-3-7-3-14=3.4) Orange citrus herbal hop nose. Biscuit and sweet nutty marzipan malt aroma. Opaque, dark amber-brown with light tan head. Fruity and malty body has some sherry-like flavours and a fair roastiness with lots of finishing roasty bitterness. Very dry and perhaps over-attenuated. Chalky in the mouth. Bottle sampled with asheft, beerbuzzmontreal, MartinT, muzzlehatch, Rastacouere and Yowie.

Another winner from Smuttynose. Poured dark ornage with a thin and yellowish tan head. The aroma was piney with grapefruit and caramel. The taste had toffee, coffee and grass. There was also some burnt brown sugar. Nicely done.

Bottle via Hopdog, thx! Hazy refracted sunset orange hue with a lasting frothy light tan head and excellent lace on my snifter. The aroma has notes of leathery and non-aromatic pipe tobacco esters, piney and grassy hops, bready malts, hopleaf, and heather. The taste starts with a smack of sugar and big hop bitters. The midsection is a strong pine influence with citric undertones. The finish is more piney hops, white pepper, corriander and clove. Quite spicy and astringent for sure. The feel is quite biting and sharp, this one is a sipper and not for the meek has iit tastes stronger than the 10% ABV. Wow, I am fully impressed by this release, Mikey likey! Yet another enjoyable barleywine I’ve had over the past daze. Love those holiday weekends.