Terminal Gravity Bucolic Plague Barleywine

Brewed by Terminal Gravity Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Enterprise, Oregon USA

Tap at Horse Brass in two different years! 02 and 05. Both versions were very tasty though different, with a much more pronounced earthen/pine hop presence in the 05. The 02 was a smooth malt bomb, delicious meld of caramel, brown sugar and dark fruit. The 05 had all that but a little less pronounced and with more hoppiness. Would drink both versions again in a heartbeat.

Draft at Uber. Pours a reddish amber with a thin head. Aroma is sweet: and syrupy, in a good way. In the mouth, it’s a little harsh, but still interesting, with notes of caramel, banana, etc.

Draft at Uber. Pours cloudy, rubied medium amber. Thinnish but dense moussy off-white head. Big sweet nose: cookie dough, caramel, graham cracker, toffee. Medium body, light carb. Slickish, kinda sweet and twangy but still palatable (actually, as the glass wears on, the twang gets much more overbearing). Dough, crackers, and caramel come around again for the mid-palate, joined by a burning leaf hop zap that carries through to the finish.

Tap at Uber

Pours a copper orange with scarcely any head but instead a thick lacing of tiny white foam. The aroma of candied grapefruit and rich caramel is lovely, but the hops cut too hard and the palate burns way-hot, leaving what seem to be a very nice set of malt flavors and complexities so thoroughly outmatched that I’m having a hard time appreciating what doubtless are the finer, more subtle aspects of the flavor.

Maybe with a few more years on it, this one would be nice. Now, it’s too heavily hopped and the alcohol needs time to mellow.

2005 vintage on tap at the Horse Brass for their 30th anniversary. Pours a deep amber color. Aroma is bittersweet with a slight astringency from the alcohol. Amazing mouthfeel, one of the most viscous beers I’ve ever had. The alcohol is pretty well hidden but what’s more surprising to me is that it’s not cloying at all for being so sweet and syrupy. I usually find beers similar to this in body and sweetness to be repulsive (Breidablik Barleywine, EKU 28) but this is definitely a treat.

This is a bit of a flimsy barleywine, kind of sweet, lamost to the point of cloying when it warms, with lots of rich toffee and caramelzied brown candi sugar notes. Tons of fruitiness, that does it best to mask the alcohol, but has a tendency to fail, as the burn fills your palate. Very NWern style BW and overhopped.

Bronze with a light filmy head and spot lacing. Nice caramel malts with a citrus, fruity background and bitter hops. Rich maltiness with caramel and roast in the flavor. Bitter with some fruitiness. Finishes with a warm bite. Sticky and cloying palate.

Deep golden colour. Rich pale malts with slashing peach fruit esters. Sweet, fruity with hints of alcohol...just hints...until late when it becomes a bit more prominent, offering dryness to this rich malty concoction. Good complexity of malts and esters.