6.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5

Süßer, stark malziger Beginn. Die Süße bleibt konstant, moderat herb, etwas schokoladig, erhöhte Karbonisierung. Nett. 10/11/10/11/9/11

7.2

Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Barley wine in the style of Gaverhopke (a brewery near Kortrijk which I've known since it was still owned by Eric Ameye and his wife and which has changed a lot since then), steinie bottle from Geers near Ghent. Slow gusher - of course, this is Gaverhopke - but manageable with enough patience. Immediately towering high, bath foam-shaped, very fluffy and mousy, irregularly lacing, pale yellowish beige head, settling as a thick and irregular mousy ring about a minute later, slowly dissipating and showing gaps later on; misty, dark burgundy brown robe with glowing ruby red hue. Aroma of cookie dough, dry caramel, brown honey, treacle and dark candi sugar, pear syrup, 'jenever', candied figs, prunes, banana mash, raisins soaked in brandy, quince jam, cashew nuts, ruby port, dry straw, hints of beef 'bouillon', iron, cloves, black pepper, sugared tea, wet clay. Sweet onset, fruity notes of blue plum, stewed apple and banana 'darkened' by brown candi sugar but not too sticky anywhere; fizzy carbonation adding a sourish aspect and distracting a bit from the flavour, too much so for the intended style. A very light beef broth-like umami accent accompanies a full, bit resinous body of caramelly and brown-bready to even very slightly chocolatey malts, with lingering honeyish sweetness from the candi sugar on top, alongside ongoing fruity esters and some clove-like spicy phenols; there is some onsetting, bit 'rusty' oxidation with a certain 'metallicness' at the edges, but only subtly so - generally the malts are still in good shape. Finishes malty and boozy, with a late and gentle dash of leafy hop bitterness, lots of ongoing fruitiness and spiciness as well as candi-sugariness, all heated by a brandy-like alcohol effect that palpably goes down the throat, even with a light burn. I have skipped on Gaverhopke for years due to their issues with gushers and generally 'untidy' beers, but when I saw this on the shelf, I thought I had to give it a try; it is a very potent beer, but there are no serious off-flavours and it does remind me of some foreign (dark) barleywines I had in all those years of drinking beer. Not bad, enjoyable even on a chilly evening, but as tderoeck rightly mentions below, this is more a quadrupel than a true barleywine; it has a lot of Belgian-yeasty features (like the 12 from the same brewery) and there is no doubt in my mind that the classically Belgian adjunct of dark candi sugar has been applied here, whereas a true Anglo-Saxon barleywine should derive its sugars from malt only. Granted, I have argued that a category of 'Belgian barleywine' deserves some degree of recognition, even with the use of candi sugar, but even then, this one would fit much more comfortably in the quadrupel category. For those seeking a sweet, thick, boozy sipper in general, though, I can imagine this not being a disappointment at all - but you have been warned: keep 'quadrupel' in mind when drinking this and it will be a lot more satisfying. Seen within Gaverhopke's output so far, which is an altogether very different angle: certainly among their better creations.

6

33cl bottle. A dark orange brown beer with a beige head. Aroma of riped red fruits, apples, honey, dried fruits. Taste of dried fruits, honey, strong malt, boozy.

6

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Bottle shared with Dutchdrebus. Brownish color, huge foamy off-white head. Smell and taste malts, sweetness, caramel, banana yeasty, a bit boozy. Mwah, drinkable at best. 6-3-6-3-12

6

Thx voor delen Benzai. Ongebalanceerde zoete meuk. Maar niet super vervelend. Een beetje net als lijmsnuiven dit.

6.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Imported from my RateBeer account as Gaverhopke Style Barley Wine (by 't Gaverhopke):
Aroma: 7/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 6/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 12/20, MyTotalScore: 3.2/5

7/IV/18 - 33cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker) @ home - BB: 2022 (2018-358)

Clear dark chestnut brown beer, big solid creamy beige head, pretty stable, adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: sweet, overripe banana, yeasty, dried fruits, some caramel, alcohol, more banana. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: pretty sweet start, lots of banana, bit sugary, some chocolate, alcohol touch, caramel, yeast. Aftertaste: unpleasant bitterness, lots of banana, alcohol, bit sugary, hoppy touch, some chocolate, bit medicinal. More like a Quadruppel than a Barley Wine, pretty sure they added sugar and the banana yeast esters ain't helping much either...