Tampa Bay Moosekiller Barley-Wine Style Ale

Brewed by Tampa Bay Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Tampa, Florida USA

Vibrant orangey-amber with a thin head. The aroma is largely caramelly with light orchard fruit esters. Sweet, leaning towards bubblegummy with papaya hop and a stiff shot of alcohol in the finish that ultimately fails to cut the heavy sweetness.

Enjoyed on-tap at the brewpub. The winner of their lineup. A bit lacey, reddish body. Not as fresh tasting as the rest of their lineup. Drying finish, crisp, very smooth drinking. Very good hoppiness.

On tap at the brewpub in Tampa Bay. Poured a hazy amber/orange color with a thin, quickly dissipating off white head. The aroma was sweet malt, with a resiny note. The flavor was a bit sweet and needed more hops to be balanced. I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be by this one.

Sample @ brewpub. Deep bright orange with slight haze, tan head, and scattered lacing. Cakey aroma is balanced too. Is sweet with gingerbread and cake qualities. Nice. Sweet silky and has a pineapple juice finish. They claim 100 IBs but ends up being sweet...

Pint/Goblet on tap at the brewpub. It was listed as 10.2% Pine-herbal hop nose with a nice caramel malt backdrop. Some light anise is also present in the aroma. Transparent amber body with a smallish light tan head. Sweet, sticky, chewy, caramel, and nutty maltiness comes through the start and the middle. I also get this odd little anise-like flavoring. Light herbal hops to finish, which balance this nicely. Ethanol is well-hidden. Good stuff.

Bottle at TFBC. Pours orange/amber, with tan head. Aroma has a weak flavor profile with prominent malts and caramel and notes of floral hops. Taste, hoppy with grapefruit notes, plenty of sugar, light caramel notes. Thick mouthfeel with orange marmalade and dry hop feel giving it a woody palate. (probably caused it to lose some aroma). Remains a very robust barley, one of the very few that have been available in Florida for past few years.

Side by side comparison of the fresh version and the 1-year aged cask version. I very much prefered the smoother flavors of the aged cask version. The regular version was strong, alcoholic, bitter and just a little too much. After the aging, however, you get a completely different beer. The nose is bourbon, caramel and vanilla. The flavor is a mild and sweet caramel and dark fruit with much less bitterness from the hops. I really enjoyed the aged cask version.

Sampled fresh on draft and also aged (1 year) on cask. In both versions, the pour yields a clear, reddish caramel colored body with a small, foamy, cream colored head. That is where the similarities end, however. Further differences between the two are absolutely striking.

When fresh, the aroma is brash and alcoholic, notes of sweet caramel, bold floral hops, and medicinal herbs stewed into a hot mess of a nose. Flavors, too, are searingly hot, phenolic, and medicinal. A thick, syrupy, hot mouthfeel does nothing to help it’s cause.

Aged and on cask, the brew really blossoms and comes into its own. Brash alcoholic notes soften, transitioning into a nice, fruity sherry aroma. Cherries and vanilla emerge from the depths, redeeming the previously intolerable nose, while the floral hops also ease up and settle into the mix. Flavors too are massively improved. Balanced and melded, the caramel, fruits, oaked sherry, and softened floral hops come together nicely after a year. Still a bit syrupy in the mouth, gone is the harsh, offensive, alcoholic sear.

Long story short, this beer simply demands to be aged, as it is too young and brash when served fresh. As it stands, my rating reflects a middle ground between young and old, draft and cask.