Tröegs The Flying Mouflan

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

Bomber from Chuck’s in Bowling Green. Half inch quickly dissipating head, off white, with a hint of greenish brown, solid lacing as it fades. Body is a dark brown, growing cloudy at bottom of the bottle. Dark cocoa, almost bitter chocolate dances through the floral hops and rich maltiness. At first, it feels lighter than most barleywine, but the alcohol heat catches up with you quickly. Really a unique beer. Wish I could have cellared a couple of bottles to compare next year. Not quite as mellow as it warms.

Dark cloudy brown, creamy light tan head. Piney citrus and dried chocolate cherry aromas ride a deep toffee fig foundation. Very well integrated with malty brown sugar and mild chocolate coated dark fruits wrapping around a tightly wound core of piney-earth hop goodness. Medium bodied, soft carbonation, bittersweet finish. A great late night sipper…

bottle poured a reddish chestnut brown with a thick layer of dark tan head that laced the glass nicely. aroma has sweet citrus hops, pine, honey, brown sugar, and a touch of creamy chocolate. nice and rich but perfectly hopped. mouth feel is fairly hefty and there is low carbonation. flavor just smacks down the hops, pine, citrus, resins, and bitters. nice rich malting and a gentle honey brown sugar sweetness. very smooth but rich at the same time. interesting pops of the chocolate cap the smooth hopped finish.

bottle from the deli at a meet the brewers event in state college. pours a murky brown color off white head. aroma is citrusy and roasted barley. taste is very easy to drink and sweet with a nice hoppy kick to it. nicely balanced like most of there beers

THOUGHTS: I tried this on tap at the Good Dog Bar during Philly Beer Week and it was great. I could only hope the bottled version was as good. Wow was it ever. It’s like Nugget Nectar and Dead Reckoning Porter had a baby and baby grew up to be more of a success than either of its already successful parents, due to to their love and sacrifice. Now that they’re bottling and naming a former scratch beer, I’m hoping one day I’ll be able to buy a bottle of Naked Elf. This, though, was one wicked barley wine that was surprisingly easy to drink. It didn’t really even seem like a barley wine to me. It seemed almost like a new thing. Like a dark double IPA. It was like eating grapefruit for breakfast and washing it down with a caramel mocha coffee. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brownish red that was mahogany in the light with an average to large, off-white to khaki head that mostly diminished, but kept a nice sheet that blanketed the sides of the glass with excellent lacing. The aroma was moderate molasses, caramel, mild coffee and light roasted malt, moderate to heavy grapefruit and orange (leaning slightly more to the orange) hops, maple syrup, and slight cherry. When it warmed more there was an ever so slight Band-aid smell that may have just been part of the resinous hops that emerged at that point. There was something slightly off, but only ever so slightly. I forgave this and still think overall this beer is a 20, because if it didn’t get as warm as it did, I never would have known about it. The initial flavor was rather sweet, slightly sour, acidic and even more slightly bitter; while the finish was sweet and bitter with an average to long duration. There was grape fruit, orange, chocolate, coffee, caramel malt, brown sugar, maybe some toffee, a little pine and chocolate syrup. Great balance. The full body was creamy with sort of soft carbonation and a light astringent, light alcoholic and ever so slightly chalky finish. It made me want wanna keep sippin’.

Bottle from Hyde Park Wine. Poured brown color with an average fizzy off-white head that lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy dark fruit, toffee, earthy and small alcohol aroma. Medium body with a slick texture and soft carbonation. Moderate to heavy complex bittersweet flavor with a medium to heavy bittersweet finish of moderate duration. This is a standout complex beer.

2009 Bottle tasted next to the Scratch 4 Version. Pours out a amber topped with a tan head. Aroma of caramel and citrus hops. tast was of more sweetness and a nice pine hop. A tast one. Thanks Toby

Hazy bronze, reddish highlights, thick, fizzy head is darker than you would expect. Resiny aromas of sweet honey, pine and blueberry. Large malt body, perhaps slightly oxidized, with a bit of citrus in the finish and a thin, dry bitter aftertaste. Definite alcohol warmth on the way down.