Traquair 900

Brewed by Traquair
Style: Barley Wine
Innerleithen, Borders, Scotland

Bottle. Pours a clear amber brown with a small beige head. Aroma is sweet and fruity. Notes of plums. Remote cereal and grassy notes. Roasted notes appear as it warms. – A bit stout-like. Flavour is like the aroma. Also metallic notes as well as notes of prunes.. Finis his sweet and fruity with lingering cereal notes. A bit cloying. 24-01-08.

Bottle. Medium high fluffy but lasting light brown head. Clear dark red, almost black body. Coffee, cocoa, caramel aroma with just a hint of the alcohol. The flavor is much sweeter than expected and thereby disguising the high alcohol percentage in a very tood way as the beer is still tasty with a mixture of coffee, berries and caramel. Low carbonation and a long sweet aftertaste.

Bottle @ The Winking Lizard. I was told that the only place this beer is available in the US is at Winking Lizards and after taking a look at all of the ratings for it, that might be true...Anyway, on to the beer. Poured a deep mahogany/redish color with a thin tan head. Rich, fruity aromas with some caramel sweetness. Taste is quite heavy, a lot of fruity flavors and not much of a hop bite. I have not had to many English barley wines, but I think the flavors and aromas with this beer are on par. Heavy, yet velvety mouthfeel that really coated the palate. A very well crafted beer, just not a style that I particularly enjoy.

12 ounce bottle from cgarvieuk. Pours a dark red, kind of like black cherry Kool-Aid. An off white ring of foam with som whisps in the center. I’m catching the aroma of red Twizlers!! Upon further review, I’m picking up toffee, wine, dark fruit, and cocoa. Fruity esters. Trace amount of alcohol. Very nice. Robust toffee and chocoalte flavors. Candy sweet, but not cloy up front with a dry finish. Really easy to drink. Medium body. Medium carbonation. Slight alcohol finish. Thanks a million Craig!

courtesy of Per - clear and dark ruby-brown colour, almost no foam remaining; woody nose, aroma of licorice and black cherries, Portwine-like; oily and sticky, very sweet and full-bodied with a moderate bitterness; dry aftertaste of licorice and prunes with a solid alcohol touch - a beer which deserves respect and certainly has a high ageing potential

Bottle: Clear, reddish to dark amber coloured, smaller, but stable off-white head, solid almondy to nutty nose with traces of roasted malt and alcohol; robust sweet-bitter flavour, medium to full bodied; full sweet-malty finish with traces of coffee or cacao. Superb, well rounded stuff............

33 cl bottle. This is truly an amazing brew from Traquair. Complex and tasty beer with aroma of vanilla and dried fruits. The flavour is extremely enjoyable with chocolate, toffee, dried fruits, raisins and roasted, malty caramel. Slightly better than their magnificent House Ale.

Update: I’ve had four times or so now. It’s very complex and nice, with lots of vinous notes, mulled wine, raisins, dried fruits and toffee. A bit warming in the finish. I recommend everyone to taste this one if they can get it...

33 cl bottle from Bieropholie, served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass. Rating #500.

App.: Very deep mahogany, clear, remnants of a rocky tan head. Aroma: Deep massive and sweet; huge gobs of raisins and dried fruits enveloped in a blanket of vanilla and banana esters, a good helping of sticky toffee and treacle, a bit of molasses; gives the impression of a sweetened dark rum, or a heavy banana loaf with chocolate chips; warm, rich and inviting. Palate: Medium-full body, fairly soft effervescence. Flav.: Toffee, treacle, caramel, molasses, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, nuts, esters; thankfully it is much like the nose; on swallowing, a comforting blanket of warm alcohol, somewhat off-dry, just a wee hint of bitterness and a pleasant nutty finish.

A fine brew for celebrating my 500th rating. Delicious!