Speakeasy Old Godfather Barleywine

Brewed by Speakeasy Ales and Lagers
Style: Barley Wine
San Francisco, California USA

My Bottom Line:
Dried strawberries and potent resinous hops are inebriated by swooping alcohol vapors in this complex, but perhaps abrasive Barley Wine.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam slowly perishes into the clear ruby sunset.
-The resinous hops assurance develops citrusy nodes and plenty of bitterness.
-The body is quite lean for the style, offering but a few caramelized sugars.
-Carbonation is quite soft and serves the intense flavor balance well.

Bottle.

Bottle from Capone’s, iirc. Huge PNW hoppy aroma, loads and loads of C-hops working their magic, with a bready, boozy base. Dark amber body with a creamy, retaining tan head - yummy! Taste is aggressively bitter, alcoholic, and hoppy - this ain’t yer pa’s sipper - with dry, soapy resin and medium sweetness. Slight plastic astringency. Full body. In the mold of Bigfoot but without the harmony - a bit overrated for the boldness, methinks.

12oz bottle obtained through trade. Deep amber pour with a wispy head. Sweet malt aroma with a prevelant touch of orange, marshmallow and hints of what I guess you could call veggies (that part is definitely off). However, as this warmed I noticed the veg less and it ultimately disappeared all together to be replaced with a toffee like aroma. The flavors are all muddled together. Some bitter pine and citrus peal, minerals, semi-sweet roasty caramel/molasses and a few other things floating around there. Complicated but nothing really gels. It does grow on you but it remains fair. Full and semi-dry mouth feel. A bit raw.

Nice aroma of malty rose petals and cinnamon licoriche starts the beer but the taste fails to match this because it has this tree-like flavor I used to get when I tasted sap as a child. There is some vanilla, kiwi-like fruit and a bitter tangy finish. This seems complex but a bit unbalanced with the alcohol burn rubbing away the initial flavors. Bottle from Sabatinis, Exeter, PA.

(Bottle) Purchased a 4 pack from Brewery Creek for $15. Pours a thin, white, foamy head with an intense, bubble filled orange body. A pleasant, warm hoppy nose stands out but there is really a nice balance all around. I like the mild carbonation and medicinal malted base but its the young hoppiness that clinches it from me. Very nice... I look forward to the other 3 bottles!

thanks to mgermani for the bottle.. dark amber pour, good nose of hops, and caramel malt, but the hops dominate. flavour is sweet malt, some bandy notes, and lots of soapy piney hops. a decent barleywine, quite hoppy, but i prefer more malt.

12 oz. bottle - pours clear and dark amber; slight white head and haze; thick aromas of brown sugar, dates and alcohol; flavors and strong and chewy; slight burn, but reasonable smooth, esp. for 10.2%; a sweet barley wine as opposed to many recent hoppy varities; pretty nice

Poured a cloudy amber with a thin tan head. Aroma was quite vinous at first with a fruity alc backed by sweet caramel and malt and a touch of citric hop. Boozy sweet flavour, but not overpowering, mellows into a nice smooth malty finish.