Wild Rose Barley Wine

Brewed by Wild Rose Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Calgary, Canada

Bottled. An amber beer with a thin biege head. The aroma has notes of malt and caramel. The flavor is sweet with strong notes of malt and caramel as well as lighter notes of alcohol - a good caramel soup with light but distinct hop notes - NW hops. Thanks fiulijn for sharing.

2009 release, bottle cellared 7 months, courtesy of fellow malt-head Doug. Greatly appreciated man! Pours a dark copper brown with red highlights, small cap goes to a ring quickly, modest carbonation. Aroma is demure and undeveloped; some caramel sweetness, dark fruits, cocoa, fusel alcohol. Big whack of caramel and crystal malts in the front, fruits piney hop undertone lets malts forward. Finish is long and wet and slightly sweet and boozey. Pleasant departure from the style. This is an unpretentious 3 dimensional big beer. Undeveloped...needs cellar time.

Clear brown of color with a small and weak off white head. An aroma of caramel, candy, chocolate and sweets. A flavor of port, malt, hops and liqurice.

In short: Yet another big caramel/toffee heavy brew. Not my thing.
How: Bottle swing-top. Age unknown but the beer was released one year ago. Many batches? Tasting session with Montreal dudes
The look: Cloudy dark amber body topped by a very small beige head
In long: A whole lot of caramel and toffee. This is extra-sweet with a brown sugar sensation. Some milk-chocolate here and there. Some leafy hops but not nearly enough to even semi-balance the whole thing. The mouthfeel was too smooth, kind of lifeless, I think those swing-top bottles need to be consumed within a few months. Because of that the beer felt older than it actually was. Not bad but I didn’t care much for it. Although to be fair I should say that I don’t care for most simple big sweet brews. And to be even more fair I should tip waitresses regardless of their cup size.

Bouteille de 500 ml, avec bouchon de céramique, partagée lors d’une dégustation Ratebeer Montréal chez Goldorak. Arôme: Odeur de caramel avec une pointe de noix. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée-brunâtre. Saveur: Goût de caramel légèrement fruité avec une pointe d’alcool. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût légèrement caramélisé. (Rating #2402)

My Bottom Line:
This caramel malt-driven Barley Wine understandably proposes a wealthy body that tends to overtake the resinous hops, as delicate plum fruitiness and vanilla are licked by alcohol.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam crowns the mahogany gown.
-The nose could be better developed.
-For some reason, the combination of base malts and the important dextrins give off French toast allusions.
-I usually like more complexity in this style, but I have to say the malt profile was still pleasant.
-Carbonation was a tad low, which deepened the sipping experience.
-The resinous hops provided some bitterness, but not as much as most American examples of the style.

Bottle. Thx Mike and Trevor!

Bottle at home ... Thanks to TimE for this one ... copper white creamy head ... sweet malty barley apples and vanilla nose ...again apples and quite a large amount of vanilla(too much that seems to build as it sits out)... light alcohol background ... light pepperyness... slightly oily

Samples at brewery, had to hassle brew master for this one. (Drop the beer geek card... it worked) Pours a hazy burnt orange with a large oatmeal coloured head. Aroma is sweet... has apples, marshmallows tonnes of malt and vanilla. Extreme malt in the flavor, caramel, a nuttiness, apples and marshmallows. Very oily mouth feel (in a good way) stays in your mouth for a really long time. Good barley wine.