Sprecher Barley Wine Ale

Brewed by Sprecher Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Glendale, Wisconsin USA

Bottle, I believe from last year’s batch (and with gold wax). Rich, complex malty nose - dark, dried fruits, sometimes with pits, strong vinous notes (indeed, very port-like), caramel, wood, faint alcohol. Deep, dark amber-mahogany with a soapy, rocky beige head. Taste is really saccharine-sweet , a little caramel and a bunch of fruity/berry malt, nice complexity with very well hidden alcohol. Full bodied with some salty notes in the mid-body. Way too sugary for a BW, and really most beer, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

$4.99 bottle from Hi Time on 7/11/07. I love the Sprecher bottles and name. They do a good job marketing. 16oz bottle with gold wax. Bottle code 21140FL, 062911128? Pours with a small head of medium bubbles fading very fast, but slowly replaced with a microbubble ring around the edge of the glass. Thick dark amber color with no sign of yeast sediment. Nice aroma of malty caramels and dark fruits. A pleasure to smell. Very nice flavor, as if it has mellowed. A mild zing on the tongue, which is probably alcohol, but my mind wants to say some tartness. Lots of sweetness, that I like. Oxidation is trying to show itself, but can’t quite do it. Barleywines age well, and I’m thinking this one has done very well over time. I keep debating on whether this deserves a 4.2, which is so much higher than its average of 3.3. The lowest I would feel comfortable dropping it to would be 4.0, but I’m going to stick my original decision of 4.2. A very tasty brew.

see through orange with yellow highlights.not much head.i pick up roses,dust,cotton candy,and sugar make up the aroma.the flavor boats much of what i got in the aroma,alcohol is well hidden.

With the special wax seal on the bottle, you’d think you were getting some kind of special release. Well, unforunately, nothing really special at all about this beer. But, not all hope is lost. It’s decent drinking and as long as you don’t go into this beer expecting something huge and complex, you’ll get along just fine. The appearance of the beer is a medium amber in color, suprisingly clear with a thin off-white head. Aroma is sweet caramel malts, a bit of lighter fruits (pears and apples) and some alcohol. It’s not overly done in any way, but there’s nothing really exciting going on in the nose. Flavors were really sweet, some dried apricots and alcohol. It was a decent beer and it went down fairly quickly. Drinking a 10%’er makes it a bit difficult to keep drinking, and the nature of this beer isn’t one to make you forget you’ve got something else better in the fride. Get it but don’t expect much.

Bottle into stem glass, purchased at Discount, Milwaukee. Transluscent mahogany in the glass with a big, kind of rocky head of cream yellow foam, diminishing to a dusting. Smells like a warm, fruity, buttery cupcake. Dark and herbal in the beginning, warm and fruity throughout, with some warm spices on the end. Finish has a flavor like depressed over-ripe melons. The middle tastes a little like grape skins as it warms, with some disolved sugar cane too, and some mealiness. Alcohol is a bit astringent and dry in the finish, but not too bad or too dry.

Gold Waxed Bottle. $5 @ High Times. Pours rossy amber with a thin but resilient tan head. The nose is light and overall tame. Notes of caramel, and port are most prominent. Only a hint of apple is present really not much of the typical dried fruits I’d expect. Taste is light, sweet, and a bit malty. The taste is overall drinkable and not bad, but nothing to write home about. This beer is middle of the road for Barleywines. Despite the coincedental 67 percentile and 67 (before mine) ratings, its right there in the middle. Its certainly not bad but it leaves a lot to be desired.

Bottle. A amber beer with a beige head. The aroma is of caramel malt, rye bread and alcohol, so is the taste. Medium to full body with a sweet finish.

This barley wine pours a deep reddish amber color from a 16oz bottle. Medium sized white foamy head, good lacing. Aroma is caramel, apples, fruity and sweet. A medium to full bodied barley wine. The malts are fruity and sweet, lots of apples and other fruits. There is a touch of caramel and toffee, but mostly sweetness. The hops are earthy and mild. There are lots of overripe fruit flavors and its kind of sickeningly sweet. Reminds me more of a Madeira Sherry than a beer. The malt sweet needs to be balanced by some hop presence of some additional carbonation or something. Seems a little thin tasting for a barley wine. This one just doesn’t do anything for me, heading for a drainpour. Mouthfeel is thin. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is sweet.