Sonoran Old Saguaro Barleywine

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

Bottle sampled at DLD ’09. Clear amber pour with a thin white head. Grainy malt and sugary aroma with some dark fruit. Sugary and fruity flavor with a welcome bit of tartness.

Bottle. Pours clear amber with a rocky, fizzy, off-white head, somewhat lasting with fair lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, straw, cereal, bread), light hop (grass), average yeast (dough) with notes of cinnamon, spiced apples, nutmeg, pear, and cherries. Full bodied, sticky texture, average carbonation, and an astringent finish. Average duration, light sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness. Not sure this is a barley wine, more of an American strong ale; still a decent brew.

Thanks AgentSteve. Poured amber red, tart cherries, caramel, little dark fruits, little malty.

Apparently I saw things in this beer that many previous raters didn’t. Pours a beautiful copper red with a thin eggshell head. The nose is dried fruits and a hint of cherries and caramel. The flavor is similar but an added dose of tartness as if a sour ale mixed with a barley wine. Very nice finish as if it was aged in oak. Maybe it was a mistake, but how nice a mistake it was! Thanks for this interesting ale, jimbowood.

Bottle... C&P’sLYFO Throwdown... Cloudy caramel-colored ale. Not much of a head. Caramelly, lactic nose. Full-bodied. Seems to be a bit infected as the chewy caramel base is tainted a bit by misplaced acidity and very effervescent carbonation. Tangy, moderately bitter finish. Not bad, but more care should have been taken in either the bottling or handling of this beer. Video = http://homepage.mac.com/maltajo/RATEBEER/iMovieThe

CPLYFO 09. Pours a hazy deep amber almost brown wit a thinning head. Aroma is initially diacetyl- butter all the way through into the flavor- but also some sherry oxidation and a cherry and raisin-like fruitiness. Salty malt flavor, more ox and lots of butter- slick and lifeless aftertaste. Meh.

bomber from tops... dark copper colored pour is clear with a tiny light tan head. the aroma is fruity... i don’t know specifics but it is some sort of fruit... along with flowers, malt and a ridiculously huge dose of butterscotch-y diacetyl. the unknown fruit makes it’s way into the flavor and meets up with citrus, non resinous pine, spent caramel malt, dry earthy spice and warming alcohol on the finish. the whole time my palate is riddled with sugar and diacetyl/butterscotch... medium to full bodied. it gets a bit sticky, buttery, thick and cloying. dryness tries to fix the problems but low carbonation doesn’t help. it does not move or develop on the tongue and feels rather dead. this reminds me of a really buttery malo chardonnay... hard to drink. 3/3/5/2/7/2.0

Clear copper with a light tan head. Perfumy floral hop aroma. Smooth rich mouthfeel. Cotton candi sweet flavors with mild pit fruit and metallic notes. Strangly acidic finish. Decent overall.