Old Backus Barleywine

(Hand bottle 65 cl) Courtesy of Storm. Pours an almost clear reddish brown with a beige head. Aroma of nuts, caramel, overripe fruit and alcohol. Quite full-bodied with sweet caramel, yeast, overripe fruit and aroma hops. Rather bitter finish. 260708

22 fl bottle. Pours clear and golden dark brown with a tan lacing head. Smooth vanilla and chocolate malt aroma. Flavour is solid caramel and liqourice and towards chocolate. Dark and roasted malt and liqourice flavour. Ends warming and roasted. Great.

My thanks to Wawood for this treat. I did not think there were freshness issues with the growler. The aroma is grassy hops. A black barleywine? Yes. Yes it is. Still. There is some malt sweetness and a sour, grassy flavor. Palate is a little thin for a barleywine. The alcohol is hidden very well. More of a bitter hops rather than sweet barleywine. Pleasant.

An unclear copper colored beer with no head. The aroma is very sweet and very strong of overripe fruits and prunes. The flavor contains notes of alcohol, overripe fruit, grapes, and prunes, leading to a dry hoppy end. Great flavor.

2003 vintage bottled from a growler by csbosox. Pretty incredible that I have the chance to try this stuff. This beer decants from a 16 oz Grolsch swing-top bottle, a dark chestnut brown, murky and highly unfiltered. Cinnamon and deep ruby hues swirl about as a cream colored head fades to whispy clumps of bubbles. The nose takes in a large scent of dark concord grapes, strongly phenolic yeast and a smooth, lush oiliness that just seeps off of the beer. Whereas the Owd Macs was decidedly British in style, this barleywine strikes a powerfully hoppy note immediately. All thoughts of this being a malty English Barleywine vanish. Before even contemplating the flavor, I am struck with how smooth, full and oily the body is. No traces of wateriness, as seen in the Owd Macs, and this is supposed to be one year older! The hops from the aroma do not disappoint, this starts out highly bitter, large doses of American hops bombard the palate, and a sticky, resinous caramel malt provides the much needed backup. Having just read the commercial description, I can personally vouch for the IBU claim. This stuff is hoppy!! But lightly tart red fruit notes, as well as a strong vinousness, light notes of vinegar and prunes all combine in the complex flavor. Sticky, hugely viscous and thick, this beer is a study in full flavor. Towards the finish, it ends on a more dry barley and dry toffee note. Bitterness lingers long, but the flavor coats your mouth. Thank you so much for this, Chris, this was truly a wonderful and unique beer (though the hops are too dominant yet, and this needs more time in the cellar).

Thanks to csbosox for the chance to try these excellent Free State beers! Bottled from a growler. This poured with a bit of fizz that really didn’t produce a head, maybe a ring of foam around the edge or the glass. The chestnut color was a bit hazy. I sampled this twice actually, with a few hours apart to clear my palate. The aromas are complex. Big caramel, nuts, fruit, alcohol. The two Free State beers I had today both had extremely nice aromas and if you can’t get a chance to drink one, you should at least get to smell one! This has a touch of sweetness tempered nicely with a drying hop presence, like a bigger, bader (better) version of a Bigfoot that has been aged for years to mellow everything out. Excellent balance. A very enjoyable sipper.