Sonoran Old Saguaro Barleywine

Brewed by Sonoran Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Phoenix, Arizona USA

Pours a dark amber color. Goes down with great ease. Tastes hoppy, I can’t really taste the alcohol. Didn’t taste too syrupy. Good stuff. This may not be the very best barley wine out there, but it is a great bargain.

Copper in colour with a tan head that is quickly discipating. The nose is malts and some alcohol. The taste is suggary with mlats and cream. Interesting just better than average. Check it out if you can.

Thanks to jables for sharing this from his recent trip. Nice copper body with a tan head. Aroma was malty, sweet, alcoholic. Smoth, oily in the mouth. The flavor was moderately sweet with some fruit and a touch of hops. The alcohol was not overpowering. Quite good.

I have in general stayed away from the style, which I always imagined to be both thick and prententious. This is certainly a pretenious ale, but one sophisticated enough to stand up to its own reputation. Pours a think mohagany brown, the color of expensive furniture. Smells of burnt brown sugar. Comes in sharply but finishes with a large, deep and sweet back side, not unlike J.Lo’s. This is to IPA’s what port is to wine, to be enjoyed after dinner, when all other drinking is done. I salute both the inspiration and realization. Congrats.

Cloudy reddish copper in color with gold highlights. Sweet, raisiny aroma. Flavor is sweet and mildy fruity; complex with a crisp afterbite. Syrupy on the palate. Nice.

This beer pours a vibrant ruby red color with a small off-white head. The aroma is malty sweet with a nice dose of hops. Flavor is very malty with a perfectly balanced hop bitterness. Nice thick and syrupy body the finishes quite dry. A really good barleywine.

Maybe my nose is off tonite, maybe I'm just a hopeless hophead... I can't smell or taste any hops in this thing at all. It's way too sweet and lacks any kind of balance, save for a slightly bitter finish. It looks quite nice, with is deep amber orange color, a pale fizzy head, and so so lacing. Mouthfeel is pretty thick and syrupy, typical barleywin. Finish is warm and alcoholic and quite dry. It's just sickeningly sweet... Don't think I'll be getting this one again.

Pours a hazy orange, brown, red composite. Aroma is sweet caramel malt with estery hops and alcohol. Taste is exactly what I'd expect based on the aroma but with strong fruity notes. Buttery toffee with fruit candy all over it about sums it up. The mouthfeel is actually thinner than expected as I thought this would be mighty heavy but it's not thin by any means either. Overall, a superwarming brew yet the alcohol isn't obvious. That helps the drinkability.