Tröegs The Flying Mouflan

Brewed by Tröegs Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania USA

Bottle: Dark mahogany with thin head. The nose is musky with some herbal hops, lots of sage and colombus-like character (my least favorite). Needs a little sweetness to keep it interesting for me or to offset the alcohol and sage note that seems to dominate this beer. I like the meatiness of it, but it’s not high on my list.

Found at Premiere Gourmet. Pours a dark amber colour. Full mouthfeel that is very hoppy. Like a Double IPA, tasty orange-grapefruit citrus.

22oz bottle, dark copper color with barely any head, aroma is heavy American barley wine- lots going on with just as much hop as malt aroma. Taste is the same- man, there is a ton of stuff here- earthy malts are almost meaty (kind of like the Arctic Devil in the malt dept, but not quite that big) and there are a ton of hops. I don’t know that i would say it is well balanced, there is just a lot of each. Also spices, dark fruits, caramel, toffee, alcohol- pretty much everything allowed in the barleywine spectrum. This is fairly fresh still for a barley wine so i think i’d have to let it age a while so the flavors can meld a bit more and smooth out some of the rough edges. Started out pretty cold and let it warm to room temp, which i preferred.

bottle, trade with carny77. Good aroma, Sweet. Fig date leather, grapefruit, musty, I say, chocolate, caramel, tad brash. Orangy brown color, Good head, faded kind of quickly, no lace. Bitter sweet flavor. Medium to thick body, Smooth creamy mouthfeel, bitter dry finish. This was a greta brew, excellent mix of aroma and flavor. Thanks Carny....

Bomber from my summer secret santa. Pours murky dark brown with small off-white head. Aroma is sweet malts, dark fruits, brown sugar, toffee and some booze. Flavor is sweet and chewy malts, candied sugar, raisins, brown sugar, toffee, hops with touch of citrus and pine. Booze is much more prevalent in the aroma compared to the flavor. Very drinkable barley wine. Really liked this one and by far my favorite brew from Troegs thus far.

Deep purple/brown coloration with a minimal ivory colored head. Aroma has ideas of port wine, citrus hops, caramel, sweet chocolate; booze is already evident. Aroma is really interesting, not by any means a standard barleywine. Strong notes of roasted malt, chocolate, and other concepts of a good stout. This facet intertwines with more orthodox barleywine traits, like vinous notes, candied sugar, raisin, and almost like an apple cider idea. The alcohol is also certainly evident on the finish, and the citrus hops seem to hit and withdraw again and again, like a boxer’s jab. This is a very good beer; I thought Nugget Nectar would be a one hit wonder from Troegs, but now it is clear that is not the case.

Dark brownish purple with a thin white veneer of a head. Aroma is extremely vinous-almost akin to a nice port wine. Caramel and cocoa nib combine as well with a most excellent piney hop profile. Flavor is sweet and surprisingly roasty. Excellent hop presence in the form of evergreen and citrus balanced excellently by bitter dark chocolate, nectarine, raisin and caramel toffee. Palate is quite dry and medium to full. Leaves a roasty film, urging the quaffer to take another sip.

I had a bottle of this from Max’s while visiting Baltimore. I’m from Florida and this was my first Troegs beer (the only one available at the pub at the time). I’m a big hop-head and have been dying to try this brewery after reading many good reviews of their Nugget Nectar. I had no idea what type of beer this was, but the label mentioned something about it being Nugget Nectar pushed off a cliff or something, and that was enough to sell me on this $15 bottle. There is a lot going on with this beer from the subdued hoppiness and moderate maltiness of the initial taste to the lingering intense chocolate malt finish that I just can’t quite seem to put into words. The main appeal of this beer to me is this complex, sophisticated taste journey. The main drawback to me is actually this same complexity of taste that may just be too sophisticated for my simple hop-head tastebuds. I’m glad I got to experience this beer, and even though I can’t call it a favorite, I would definitely recommend it.