Third Coast Old Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Bottle, just short of a year old. Pours dark brown, just on the edge of opaque, cloudy, with a very thin light tan head that thins to a ring quickly. Nose is toffee and molasses, rich dark fruits with a bit of alcohol, brown sugar - big and complex. Taste starts out with a big note of rich, over-ripe dark fruit and molasses, with the hops and alcohol working to keep the sweetness from getting out of control early on. Towards the middle of the tongue the alcohol comes through just a bit clearer, as well as the rich sweetness - lots of toffee and brown sugar as well as the molasses,Hops never actually get out from underneath the huge malt not, but you still get a good, clear presence from them for balance, as well as a bit of a lingering lightly bitter, dry finish. Bitterness seems to come from the hops and the alcohol as well, and pick up just a bit of the bitter-sweet dark fruit note. Warming. Mouthfeel is smooth, lightly carbonated, but still just a bit of scrubbing going on. Nice beer overall.

I had this beer at our holiday party this year. I was a couple of craft beers deep when this one hit my palate hard. Very heavy and alcoholic which was not what i had been expecting. I will try this again in a more appropriate setting for rating.

Bottle. Pours semi clear brown with a small head. Aroma of malt, caramel, dark fruit. Taste is very malty, some hop, plenty of fruit, light booze, brown sugar, caramel. Finish is bitter and body is smooth. Overall, a very solid barleywine.

12/4/2008: Pours a fabulous caramel brown with a bright yellow, small head. Insanely good lacing. Aromas of caramel, toffee, sweet malt, and brown sugar. Taste is fairly bitter with the 10.5% by volume perfectly hidden by the hops and heavy malt character. Very dry, tart aftertaste with some spicy alcohol. Awesome!
Vertical tasting 8/27/2009: After some aging this is showing tons more burnt caramel, rich toffee, creme brulee, caramel syrup. Aroma is spicy, boozy. Very good.

12oz bottle. Pours deep mohogany with tan head. Aroma is sweet malt, brown sugar, caramel, dark fruit, hops and booze. Flavor is sweet but bitter. Good amount of hops and sweet malt. Flavor is also dominated by brown sugar, dark fruit, and caramel. Nice hoppy barley wine that finishes bitter. Could use some more balance.

Thanks AgentSteve. Mahogany, smooth, sweet, caramel, dark fruits, malty, molasses.

Pours rich deep copper red. Medium beige head. Very focused sprucy hop aroma. Tastes just like it smells. Very hoppy. Oily texture. Quite similar to Stone’s Double Bastard actually.

(11.25.08) 12 oz. bottle: Pours a clear mahogany with a decent head that falls away quickly. Not much lacing. Aroma is caramel malt with dried fruits and hops, along with some alcohol. Body is creamy. Flavor keeps the malt, adding some vanilla, dark fruits, and some piney hops. Solid barleywine / old ale.