Tyranena Spank Me Baby! Barley Wine

Formerly brewed at Tyranena Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Lake Mills, Wisconsin USA

Poured dark amber with an off white head. Aroma of fruit and candy. Taste was pretty much the same but with some hints of caramel.

Bottle. Pours a murky brown with a very thin head. Little carbonation or lacing on the glass. The aroma is of sweet dark fruits, caramel, brown sugar. The flavor is fairly sweet. Not much in the hops department as this one screams English style barley wine. Sweet, with caramel, sugar, toffee, and alchol. Very good rendition.

Pours a murky light amber with a thin head. Aroma of caramel, sugar, and fruit, alcohol as well. Nice flavor, good mouthfeel. Alcohol is a bit too strong.

12 oz bottle from WI bottle shop. Pours a murky brown red with almost no head. Nose of alcohol, carmels, dried fruits, brown sugar, oaky and candied. Hints of faded grassy hops linger in the background. Sweet carmels, toffee, licorice, oak, and banana. The banana, toffee, and alcohol linger while my stomach warms. The alcohol starts to taste a bit astringent like hairspray as it sits on my tongue. Decent accept for the hairspray.

Bottle into stem glass; bought at Discount, Milwaukee. Creamy yellow-tan head fully diminishes over an opaque glowing yellow brown beer; nothing special. Porty alcohol aromas waft over a base of bready brown sugar smells. At first I thought that it was bland and soft; if I were a fabulist, I would say it was "subtle." Unfortunately, the softness of the first sip, which was gently sweet and somewhat herbal, slips into a chemically dry and astringent finish. The hops in this don’t leave much of an impression, unless that impression is of tasty, tasty aluminum. As the beer warms, the middle belies some nice woodsy, winey notes that persist into a finish that becomes more vinous. Still, not that great. Not bad, but not impressive. Disappointing for a series of beers that I’ve generally enjoyed.

12oz bottle-A murky amber body with a small white head and an aroma of sweet malt, caramel, and slight vanilla. Taste of malt and alcohol. Not a big fan of this style but a nice tasting beer.

Bottle (from KingpinIPA). Sweet peach/apple and malt aroma. Cloudy red-amber color with small head. Sweet apple flavor initially followed by caramel malt and pine hops. Very smooth with nice blending and minimal alcohol bite. A premiere barleywine.

12 oz bottle

For some reason this has been sitting in the fridge for a few months. I finally got the motivation to give it a try. Of the BGW! releases so far this is probably my least favorite. Looking at other reviews it does not seem to be the impact of a few months age either. It’s still better than your average beer but my expectations were not quite met. I will be sharing my other bottle with people who do not have the chance to try Tyranena on a regular basis.

Aroma / Appearance - A short lived sandy head folds into the ruby red body after less than a minute. A sweet hoppy aroma greets the nose with a combination of roasted walnuts, almonds and butterscotch. I was expecting a little more from a barleywine.

Flavor / Palate - A strong bitterness attacks the senses along with caramel and some earthy flavors. It then morphs into cedar, banana peppers and carbonation that sits on the back of the tongue. The fading taste of tea grounds gives way to a warm finish. On the while I was ambivilant about the whole experience. It was a solid release but not quite what I was expecting after previous BGW! beers.