Black Label #1 Oak & Raisin Barley Wine
Pivovar Raven in Plzeň, Plzeň Region, Czechia 🇨🇿
Barley Wine - Barley Series Out of Production|
Score
6.88
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
OMFG! Did I expect to ever try it? No! Was the 2025 Raven Fest, in honor of Raven's 10th anniversary the most likely place I'd do it - of bloody course it was! Enormous thanks to the Raven folk, I think it was Míra who got it to me. So... how does such an old BW perform now? Surprisingly well, we found. Murky brown body, off-white head. The aroma is still dominated by dried fruit and caramel, all's well there. The taste, however, shows some hits. Lean, dried out, somewhat tart, but also cake-like, lovely dried fruit touches, truly nice I'd say, but the age took its toll!
gave a cheers!
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle shared at Cotteridge Convention 2017. Cheers! Pours clearish orange with a creamy, khaki head. The nose holds pale bread, toasted grains, orange peel. Medium sweet flavour with notes of pale wood, hay. Medium to full bodied, oily, with fine carbonation. Lightly warming finish, with some stick sugars. Not bad overall.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle 0.75l from our archive, two and half year aged. Cloudy, reddish amber colored. AROMA- red fruit, red berries, grapes, pleasant alcohol. FLAVOR- neutral to slightly sweet, slightly bitter, a bit warming, cherry, dried grapes, wood, brandy, caramel. Fuller bodied. Nice aged character. Really good.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle split at Cotts Convention III, thanks to jmgreenuk, 20/05/17. Lightly hazed orange amber with a decent beige covering. Nose is sweet fruit rinds, toffee, grains, fruit cake, brown sugar. Taste comprises toffee, fruit cake, dates, prunes, brown sugar, dark malts, earthy bite. Medium plus body, fine carbonation, semi drying close laden with a warming kiss of alcohol. Ok sipper but lacks depth and finesse.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle shared at Cotteridge wines, Cotteridge Convention III 20/05/2017. Many thanks! A light hazed reddy amber coloured pour with an off whjite head. Aroma is jammy fruits, apricot, strawberry, sweet malts. Flavour is composed of brow sugars, earthy toffee. Palate is medium sweet, bitter, moderate carbonation. Not bad.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Bottle at Cotteridge Convention 2017. It pours deep reddish - amber with a small whtie head. The aroma is soft, sweet, juicy, tangy, leather, brown bread, ginger cake, stewed orange and wood. The taste is The taste is slick, sweet, chewy, wood, leather, varnish, honeyed fruits, stewed orange, kumquat marmalade and a touch of alcohol. Medium+ body and average carbonation. Found this too chewy and sweet. Underwhelming.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Another beer I tried at the 3rd Cotteridge Tasting on 20th May 2017. Cheers John (jmgreenuk) for this offering. Body was dark amber by the time the bottle got to me! Nose had red berries and malty molasses, taste was semi-sweet with the maltly molasses ruling the roost. My sweet tooth liked it, tried to find some raisin and oak flavours, but if there it’s subtle and I missed it.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle at CWC III; clear amber pour with a frothy beige head, aroma has sweet malt and dark fruit, taste has sweet malts, caramel, raisins, sweet plums, ok.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Tried at the cotteridge convention 2017. Amber colour with a white head. Aroma sweet berries and dried fruit. taste is mid sweet with a medium body.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Sample at the Cotteridge Convention III 2017. Poured a clear medium amber with a thin broken white head. The aroma is sweet red berry raisin fruit. The flavour is moderate sweet with a rich fruity raisin hop bitter palate. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.