Tyranena Spank Me Baby! Barley Wine

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

Another excellent offering from the guys at Tyranena. My first impressions on this beer was that is was an English style b-wine, as it was much sweeter than normal and the hops weren’t agressive in the least (which is okay by my standards). The beer pours out a orangish/brown liquid, cloudy with almost no head to speak of (a thin layer of foam appeared and the zipped away just as quickly). The aroma that I could first pick up were the sweet caramel malts. A bit of oxidation was present, as well as some dried apricots and some alcohol. Mouthfeel was slick, a bit cloying but still enjoyable. Flavor had some odd flavors, but they were something I enjoyed. A good bit of smoke (like burning paper), some light tropical fruits and a heavy dose of sweet malts. This was really nice sipping barleywine. Smooth all the way thru, no discernable taste of alcohol. I liked this alot. Recommended!

Bottle. Nice amount of caramel and toffee malt with a grassy hop backbone on the nose. Pours an attractive mahogany/brown with a big creamy off-white head. Big, rich and malty with some hops and a hint of smoked wood. Rich and creamy on the palate. Fairly full bodied.

Bottle: Dirty caramel, fairly deep in color, thick and hazy, moderate foamy light beige head, sporatic lacing.   Malt forward nose, slight wet sock and alcohol.   Flavor of astringent sweet malts, feet, wet sock, and slight rubber band.   Has an alcoholic tinge that carries most of those off flavors.   Given time I think those off characteristics will die down, but as is its somewhat unrefined.   Hop characteristics are light, being a more malt accentuated beer.   Nearly full bodied, moderate mouthfeel.   Alcoholic finish, but not too brash.   Very warming.   Malts are dominant, and in fact the bitterness doesn’t seem hop oriented.   Makes for a weird combination.   Tiz okay, but either its too young or too whacked.   I really wanted to like this one because the rest of the series is great, but this one just comes across as being somewhat average.   Great malt base, more than a lot of Barleywines, but just a little bit off.   Lingering band-aid... well almost.   Thanks John for the brews!

Bottle. Pours a dirty copper color with a smallish beige colored head that basically disappears. Aroma is sweet malt, fruity, slight band aid notes. Flavor is huge caramel malts, brown sugar, floral notes, alcohol, dark dried fruits. Palate is full bodied, mildly carbonated, finishes sweet and warming. Good, but far from great.

Name: Spank Me Baby!
Date: 01/30/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Trade

Appearance: cloudy dark orange, wispy beige head, a bit of drippy lace,
Aroma: rich sweet fruity aroma with light earthy hops,
Body: creamy body,
Flavor: rich dark fruity flavor, nice sweetness that starts mild and then gets a bit sticky, long bitter finish, a bit of alcohol begins the show after a while and the fades,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Pours cloudy ruby amber with basically no head. Smells of sweet malts. Taste of alcohol, caramel and sweet candied malts. Hidden alcohol by sweetness.

12 oz bottle from discount liquors in milwaukee. Cloudy dark brown/red color like dark apple cider with no head, only a thin off-white head that hula-hoops the edge of the glass. Lots of lively, fruity aromas with lots of dough/cookie, some alc, very well done. Flavor is cookie, med to big sweet, slight alc that is very appropiate, dough, apple, cranberry, some other citrus maybe orange, tangy in that barleywine style and barely any hop bitterness, some grains. Med to full, syrupy body with no carb. Overall a very enjoyable brew and a very enjoyable barleywine, very reminiscent of moylans barleywine.

Bottle from Monger: Poured a deep burgundy color ale with a small dirty white foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of sweet malt and light dry fruits is intriguing. Taste is dominated by some light dry fruits such as figs and plums with an interesting malt profile and light dry hoppy finish. Body is a bit light for the style with medium carbonation and no alcohol was discernable. I enjoyed this berley wine and appreciated a more malt orientated approach then an hoppy barley wine which I don’t always appreciate.