Smuttynose Barleywine Style Ale

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

The beer pours a tralucent burnished copper color, the head majestic in size, creamy and light tan in color, the lace a satiny fine sheet to smother the glass.

At the bow hops, amidships sweet caramel, and at the stern malt, clean and fresh on the poop deck. As we weigh anchors, thickly sweet and balasted by the malt, topside is full. Flying into the wild blue yonder, the hops hit you like a pacific typhoon with the acidity stronger than torpedo juice, also dry as the Tortugas aftertaste, and a Applejack alcohol warming also noticeable. A nice, middle of the road Barleywine, no Double Bastard, but one damn fine Barleywine in its own right. “Semper Fi Mac”!

22oz. bottle, Jan. 2004 vintage. Wonderfully inviting aroma, nicely hoppy, spicy and fruity with some brown sugar sweetness and doughy yeast, along with hints of juicy pineapple, flowers, cedary wood, toasty malts and some faint, peppery alcohol. Dak red-orange in color, quite cloudy and sedimented with a fine, lasting head and incredibly intricate lace coating the glass. Predominantly hoppy flavor profile, the Santiams and Simcoes making their presence felt, again quite fruity and spicy with a considerable amount of bitterness that is really apparent from about midpoint on. Complimenting the fresh, potent hops is a modicum of sweet, lightly sugary malts, some golden raisin and toasty caramel noted. Finishes with a hoppy and noticeably alcoholic flourish. Rather lively mouthfeel for the style and a full body. A fine and satisfyingly robust example of an American Barleywine.

Pours a deep unfiltered ruby with a tight beaded head and a great amount of lacing. Aromas of ripe figs and oranges. Lots of hops to. Very bitter, even for the style. Very nice balance of sweet fruitiness and hop bitterness. A huge oily texture. Warming alcohol finish. A really great barley wine. Paired well with brie and pears.

Bottle. Beautiful looking beer, nice copper, brown color with a medium beige head with nice lacing. Aroma is quite hoppy. Flavor is also hoppy, but it has a very good malt balance. String alcohol afterburn with a nice warming effect.

Bomber. Pours a deep copper with slightly off-white head that doesn’t last (probably due to alcohol content). Aroma is piney and florally hopped with a bit of citrus. Nose also has a bit of caramel sweetness and malt. Flavor is big. Lots of green pungent hops....pine, citrus, flowers. Great hop profile. Malt flavor is of crystal malt sweetness and bready/biscuity goodness with some toffee. Mouthfeel was great, though not as syrupy as the sweetness would suggest which is a good thing. Everything was quite balanced for an American barleywine: hops, sweetness and malt. Very good, doesn’t rate like BIgfoot does, but still solid nonetheless.

pours a lovely caramel color, slightly opaque. nice mix of sweet and bitter but just a little oddly flavor for my taste and I really appreciate smuttynose products.

22oz bottle, 2006. Medium amber color with little head. Nose is a nice balance of hops, sweet caramel malt, and alcohol-- aromas of earthy hops, medium caramel malt, big alcohol burn lending a medicinal note, mild fruitiness, and initially some faint sourness, like rotting apples. Flavors of fruity hops, bitter hops, and sweet malt, fairly well balanced, though bold and spicy enough to be in-your-face. Medium body, with the hops a bit rough on the palate, which I adore, and the alcohol very present and warming. Long, hoppy-sweet finish. I really enjoyed this, another fine brew from Smuttynose.

Slightly hazed brown pour with tight off white head and lace. Very dried fuitiness with a hint of abv on the nose. Nice fruity and raisins and a good bitter stand out on the taste. Full bodied with good carbonation. Solid to the style.