Watch City Lunarshine Burley Whine

Brewed by Watch City Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Waltham, Massachusetts USA

Bottle acquired in a trade with a member of the other site. Bottled on date of 4/03//04 (22oz bottle with a hand written keg label that was labeled Barley Wine, 9.4%). Poured a darker brown color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, dark cherries, raisins, and some smoke. Very nice aroma. Tastes of caramel, toffee, dark fruits and some smoke. Softer and smooth body. Light to medium sweetness.

Red brown ale with a thick off-white head. No aroma, as way too cold. Horrible in mouth, like band-aids and bilous hops. Waste of a ticket! Dont know what happened here! Contaminated! At EBF 2006.

Poured a muddy brown color with no head or lacing (perhaps it was my snifter?). Aroma of cognac, caramel malts, toffee, smoke, dried fruits, and some citrus hoppiness. Taste of lots of toffee and chewy caramel malt, citrus, and dried fruits as well, some hoppiness, and faint alcohol as well in the finish.

2004 on CASK!! Kick ass, nothing like a barleywine on cask. This one poured a caramel-brown with some deep yellow/cream notes on the sides and a big creamy thick beige head. Aroma has hints of figs, prunes, alcohol and some bitter, moderately high alpha hops, backed by enough caramel malt sweetness however. Flavor is incredibly mellow and not what I was expecting. Tends to a very soft and creamy barley, with a dry, musty yeast flavor that adds a nuttiness and good complexity. Finishes with caramel, raisins, moderately bitter alcohol and a lingering sweetness from the malt. Great offering, but the cask really brings out the sweetness here, which although backed with some lovely classic English-style yeast, can be a bit overwhelming.

Nice, dark auburn hue, capped with a creamy, cocoa-toned head, slim, but lasting....beautiful nose, sweet, yet mellow, dark fruits and spice, not too bold, not too shy, just right... Mmmm, warm, slightly sharp on entering the mouth, nice and chewy mouthfeel, big maltiness, rich caramel meets tart berries...a beautiful blend of contrasting tastes, slippery sweet, bracingly bitter, but not too brash, despite the high alcohol. Bit sugary going toward the end, but still a display of disparate elements is at play, prunes dance with butterscotch candies, a chocolate truffle dipped in Courvoisier...very nice. Long stay on the palate, very memorable, full bodied, and very true to style. Well done! (This bottle is labeled as being 9.4%...unless I’ve surely consumed something different, I’ll assume there are variances among batches.)

Art of Beer Fest ’04. Deep copper in color with a small off-white head.Aroma of dark fruit and sugars,malt and yeast. Flavor is sweet,malty,hoppy and very warming.

Bottle from brewpub, says 9.2%. Good aroma, sweet. Dried fruits, raisin, prune, apple, caramel/butterscotch, whisky. Cloudy orangy brown color, no head. Bittersweet flavors, like aroma whisky & butterscotch upfront with a burnt/grapefruity addition. Medium body, creamy smooth mouthfeel, hot, sweet burnt finish. Good brew, probably needed some more aging, oh well, might be a tad harsh for some.

Thanks to hopdog for unleashing this winner! This is the ’04 version. Appears an apple cider toned murky brown with a beige head and lofts of lacing. Smell is of caramel, vanilla, cherry, dark fruit. Taste is bready and of the same pleasant aromas. Mouthfeel is very soft, creamy, smooth, and chewy. Drinkability...this was great. May have been even better with some more aging.