Sockeye Old Devils Tooth Barleywine

Brewed by Sockeye Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Boise, Idaho USA

Aged a bit by Bück Dich. Slow pour to keep the yeast chunks in the bottle. Barely any head. Slightly hazy red/amber. Slightly grapefruit, orange, and piney hop aroma with sweet berry hints. Pretty good aroma, actually. Taste yields a dry yet watery grapefruit rind with brown sugar on top. Also pretty good. Soft and smooth palate. A bit strong and warming. Nice that it isn't overpowering.

Hazy orange/amber color,small white head that faded quickly leaving nothing behind.Malty fruity aroma with a good hint of hops.Nice malty flavor up front then a change to hops and a nicely done bitterness.As it warms i’m detecting maybe a slight hint of caramel and for fruit it’s almost citrusy,grapefruit and maybe some pine notes in there but it’s faint.The after taste is hoppy and fruity with a decent bitter finish.Not a bad brew at all.It might be a little on the young side though but not knowing the Vintage Makes it hard to say if ageing would mellow some flavors and bring out others.Thanks go to Buck Dich for this fine brew.

2004 NABA Festival: Hazy golden brown pour, Strong bitter taste that stuck with me for a while.

Hazy ruby amber hued with initial frothy off-white head that fades into a ring, some lace. The aroma hints of grapefruit, berry, caramel, pine, some clove, and dusty yeast esters. The taste starts piney and bitter but then a nice dose of sweet caramel malts comes thought to make this quite balanced. Undertones of grapefruit, strawberry, toffee, and yeast adds to depth. The finish has a nice spicy kick and moderate alcohol presence. The mouthfeel is lightly sticky and full. Warming but not massive or aggressive. This is a solid brew that doesn’t overpower but still lets you know not to gulp it. Appears to be able to age an additional year but I wouldn’t go much past that. Thanks Jordan for the bottle.

This was tasty, but more like drinking prune juice, perhaps a barleywine light. The aroma is hoppy, like popping an IPA. The flavor is overly acidic to me, and is too lately complemented by the malts and sugar. Lots of dark malts and fruits make up the taste, with a sharp acidic hop presence. Lots of caramel and toffee are also present, with a bit of an alchohol burn in the finish. Good but not great, a slight disappointment from a great brewery.

Glowing red with only a ring of whispy head out of the bottle. Fruity hop nose with noticable alcohol. Tons of hops throughout the beer with lots of grapefruit/citrus flavors and a sharp lingering pine in the finish. There is some malt with fruity raspberry and sweet caramel that try to balance, but it just can't overcome the hops. Enjoyable but not quite balanced to be great. Thanks to Buch_Dick for the bottle.

Good dark amber color with no head. Only a little lacing at the top of the glass. Great hop and spice aroma with a some alcohol smell as well. The alcohol bite is noticeable with lots of citrus hop flavors as well. Nice malt flavor adds to it also. If it was served in 12 oz glasses at regular price, I would start drinking this one until it was gone.

Poured a cloudy amber with hints of red, a small white head and some sparse lacing. Sweet malts, citrus, and alcohol make the nose. Flavors full of hops (citrus), lots of malt and more alcohol. Palate is sharpy and hoppy that leads to a bitter finish. Good Barley wine, but could be a bit more balanced.