Sprecher Barley Wine Ale

16 oz bottle from the brewery and the last bottle of my February trip to Wisco haul. Pours a nice decent hazed fiery orange amber, a decent offwhite head that that dies to a small film, laces a bit. Aromas are candied fruits and caramel, toffee, some light floral hops, a touch of butterscotch, fairly sweet. Ok. Initial is toffee and caramel, sweet with a touch of candied fruit, oranges, a light floral bitterness, marmalade, lighter bodied than anticipated, almost underbodied. Light carbonation, faint butterscotch towards the finish. A decent beer, but underbodied and lacking complexity.

Bottle [16oz] courtesy of HogTownHarry. 2006 vintage. Pours a very deep orange-red with an average size diminishing frothy tan head. Nice aroma of caramel malt, dark fruit, a good amount of hops, port, some bready notes and more. Flavour: Delicious! What is with the rating? It should be higher. Caramel malt, dark fruit, a bit of alcohol, some wood and light hops in the finish. Sticky mouthfeel. Wow, this is totally underrated in my opinion -- maybe it’s only really good aged? Either way, I loved it.

Snagged a bottle after a tour of the brewpub. Nice, but a bit sweet, even for the style, and very light in color for a barley wine.

2007 16oz. wax sealed bottle, hazy pumpkin colored pour, little carbonation and a very strong spice and malt aroma. Flavor was malty, cinnamon, some stone fruits and a little boozy cherry syrup on the finish. Not bad at all! I have another bottle in the cellar and have to imagine this will only get better with age.

Had the 16 oz 2006 bottle, which had the wax on the cap. Opened this in 2009, and I must say I was immediately impressed by the complex balance in the aroma. There was some slight alcohol present in the background, but overall, it had a lot of fruity aromas and strong malt, with a nice hop background. The appearance was hazy and a medium copper color. Upon tasting, I found a bit of alcohol present, but an incredible complex malt profile going on. I get a bit of raisin with a bit of sweetness in the background. The hops are definitely still there, and are balanced nicely. Overall, this is one of the nicer american versions I have tasted in quite some time and I feel a lot of it may have to do with the aging.

Orangish red pour with minimal head. Aroma of over ripe fruit, plastic, feet. Flavor is like alcoholic fruit snacks with a really strong over ripened fruit and carpet cleaner notes. Maybe apple sauce? Lots of rubber too. Thin mouthfeel, watery waxy finish. I wonder how much of the 8 dollars I spent on this went to the fancy bottle, but this was awful. Would rather have the pizza beer.

Medium amber with a thinning head. aroma is prickly with hot alcohol note- brown sugar, molassess, toffee and ahrsh caramel- light acetaldehyde and solvent. Slick oily meaty flavor with ligth smoke, caramel malts, citrus harsh solvent apple cidery and a spicy phenolic kick. Harsh and not really smooth- lots wrong with this one.

Bouteille 500ml (2006), courtoisie de Blankboy. De couleur rouge-brune et légèrement voilée. Nez malté de caramel toffee légèrement boisé (bois humide, notes de fût de chêne) et aux notes rôties, fruité (raisins vineux, notes de pommes) avec des petites notes de sucre brun, léger de houblon herbeux et avec des notes dalcool liquoreux. Moyennement ronde en bouche avec un pétillement bas et une texture très légèrement sirupeuse. Goût fruité (raisins sucrés vineux, notes de pommes rouges, traces de cerises et de prunes vieillies) accompagné dun léger goût boisé (fût de chêne, présent en arrière-goût durant toute la gorgée) lors de lentrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un goût malté de caramel toffee assez sucré, légèrement rôti et aux notes terreuses ainsi quavec des notes de pain. Parallèlement, lon retrouve un léger goût dalcool liquoreux (brandy) et un peu réchauffant jusquen finale, où se rajoute un léger goût de houblon herbeux avec des traces de noix asséchantes. Post-goût moyen-long et aux notes sèches, léger-moyen amer dalcool doux, de rôti, de houblon herbeux (notes terreuses) avec un goût fruité (moût de raisins) et des notes boisées.