Big Beer Series: Barleywine Style Ale
Smuttynose Brewing Company in Hampton, New Hampshire, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Regular|
Score
7.24
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First brewed in England, these potent, malty monsters were frequently aged before being put into small bottles and sold as strong beers or even medicinal tonics. The American version has been blown up with more alcohol, larger bottles and more hops.
Smuttynose Barleywine straddles these two branches of the barleywine tree. When you taste it, you’ll notice deep, rich caramel malt flavors, balanced with hop bitterness. Fruity hop flavors act as a garnish for its amped-up but classic flavor. For a more refined experience, tuck a few bottles away for a year or two. The alcohol will mellow and the hop aromas will fade into the background, leaving the luscious malt to shine on its own.
Smuttynose Barleywine straddles these two branches of the barleywine tree. When you taste it, you’ll notice deep, rich caramel malt flavors, balanced with hop bitterness. Fruity hop flavors act as a garnish for its amped-up but classic flavor. For a more refined experience, tuck a few bottles away for a year or two. The alcohol will mellow and the hop aromas will fade into the background, leaving the luscious malt to shine on its own.
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5.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
22oz bottle-pours a retaining light tan head and amber/copper color. Aroma is sweet medium malt-caramel, secondary pine hops. Taste is sweet medium malt-caramel, secondary pine/metallic hops, alcohol. Slick mouth feel which changes to a dry finish. Sipping, occasional. Thanks decaturstevo for sharing.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Jun 2008
at 19:23
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 8
Pours hazy amber into a snifter. Off-white head recedes to pancake surface leaving spotted sheet lacing. Strong caramel, detergent and resin aromas. Upfront sweet syrupy caramel. Thick with a lasting resin and ivory liquid finish.
Tried
on 16 Mar 2008
at 17:16
7.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
22 oz bottle, 2007. Poured a copper color, with a medium head. Aroma is pretty floral, with notes of yeast, cherry, and pines. Flavor is a lot more hoppy than I would have imagined a barley wine would be, brown sugar, malts, and slight fruit to it as well. Alcohol is not masked a whole lot, but at 10% I wouldn’t expect it to.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Feb 2008
at 21:49
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
22oz Bottle Pours out a dark amber topped with a off white head. A very nice aroma of sweet hops. Very nice full body. Nice sweet malts and caramell. Very good. Thanks mkgrenwel for the trade.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Jan 2008
at 21:31
7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle: Pours a deep amber with a small sandy head. Aroma of caramel and hops, a bit sweet and vinous. Taste is full of citrus and malts, some caramel. Warming, yet the 10% was well masked. Very straightforward and balanced. Good. Thanks BuckeyeBoy.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Jan 2008
at 19:51
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
A hazy dark amber ale with a thick light moka head. Rather strong alcohol in aroma, almost too much and unidimensional, with light biscuitty malt. In mouth, an overly strong barley wine, with warming alcohol, british hopping, light citrus orange, but overall, a bit unbalanced and astringent. This agressive barley wine is not my favorite.
Tried
on 04 Nov 2007
at 08:09
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle from 2004 @ Akkurat, Stockholm. Pours a slightly hazy orange color with an off-white head. Malty chocolate aroma with some hoppy hints. Sweet malty warming chocolate and caramel flavor with some hoppy hints. Sweet malty warming milk-chocolate finish with some hoppy hints in the aftertaste.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Jul 2007
at 09:24
7.9/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle, at csbosox KC tasting 4/14. Bottle provided by csbosox, thanks Chris! Hazy - cloudy pour with a bunch of particulates. Tiny white head on pour. Aroma is malt, some spiciness in it. Taste is nice malt, with the spice coming through. A bit of alcohol comes through in the taste, though not overpowering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Apr 2007
at 09:35
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Sampled at the O-Town throwdown. Murky light brown color with tiny off white head. Nice sweet and dark fruit barleywine aroma. The flavor hits first with smooth dates, plums and caramelized malts. As the taste finishes the brew provides a warming sensation. High level of Yummy-ness.
Tried
on 13 Mar 2007
at 21:13
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Bottle. Nice and malty, bonbon, pepper aroma. Hazy red/brown colour. Small white head. The flavour has a good alcohol bite, but it is nicely balanced by the sweetness and some of the same notes as in aroma.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Dec 2006
at 18:52