Tampa Bay Moosekiller Barley-Wine Style Ale

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

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.

Sampled at St Pete Creative Loafing Beerfest. Very tasty and hoppy but with a nice overall balance.

Draft at the brewpub. Deep reddish brown pour. Malty sweet aroma with hints of caramel and hops. Taste is big malt body with notes of caramel malt and coca cola with a mellow hop spiciness. Much more of a brit style barley wine IMO. Very good.

Sample @ TB Brewing: This one fell a little flat for me. Pours a butterscotch/ruby color with barely any head whatsoever. Initial taste is a malty blast to the palate, with cloying sweetness. With this much alcohol, feels very watery on the palate. Just sort of unbalanced, and too sweet upfront overall to me.

Had on tap at the brewery. I love a sweet sticky barley wine and this was right up my alley. All malt, caramels, and sticky sweet fruit. Loved it.

Tap at the brewery. Pours to a deep maple syrup colored body with a really long lasting creamy off-white with a yellowish tinge head. The flavor has a strawberry hop thing going on with a sweet barley flavor. Very smooth for a 10% beer. Malty and velvety. Rich. The aroma is much like the flavor in that the strawberries are there with a cereal grain. Very drinkable given the alcohol content. I’d end up in trouble if drinking full glasses of it. Long lingering sweetness.

This is an incredibly sweet and smooth barley wine. I liked it a LOT. It has sweet caramel, and a medicinal whiskey aroma with an oaky bourbon-ness also. The alcohol is hidden behind the sweetness, and for all the hops they clam the finish is the only hop taste, and it is very subtle. Good stuff.

Great balance of caramel sweetness to the hops. The high ABV is hidden better than most beers of that magnitude.