Chaotic Chemistry
Magic Hat Brewing Company in Rochester, New York, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Regular|
Score
7.12
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Batch#3, bottled in 2004, bottle #884. Pours amber with tiny tan head. The aroma is rich barrel notes of bourbon, vanilla and smooth even oak. I also get a thin layer of caramel in the background. The taste is sweet up front with sweet bourbon, vanilla and cameral to start. By midway smooth oak notes enhance the other flavors. Into the finish some dark fruity esters are noticed along with persistent vanilla, caramel, bourbon and smooth oak running deep into the after taste. This beer is a bit out of balance with the barrel notes smothering the beer. It could easily age much longer too. Good stuff.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
bottle courtesy of ibrew2or3 rating# 1300 Dave, you rock when it coems to bringing out the A++ barley wine. This is batch#3, bottled in 2004, bottle #884. Pours deep brown with thin head and thin golden lacing.. Aroma of pure goodness, lots of aged notes, whiskey barrel, wood, malts, caramel. Taste, at 10.8% this one comes off boozy and palate warming. Light notes of dark fruits, caramel elements with plenty of whiskey barrel notes, sweet sugary palate with a finish that had very faint hops elements. Outstanding beer, and these words cannot do it justice.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Thanks to Slob for sending this one to me in a trade long ago. Shared at decaturstevo’s Februmergency Tasting. Bottle dated and signed by the brewer 1/1/04. Pours clear orange/amber with a minimal fleeting head. Oakey malt, light bourbon aroma. Well balanced. Starting to thin out a bit.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6
Sampled at Max’s Taphouse in Baltimore. Pours a dark, translucent, reddish amber with basically zero head. Malty aroma with vanilla, oak and bourbon. Flavor is similar with more vanilla and oak, plenty of wood pulp and bourbon. Harsh alcohol finish.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Tap at Spuyten Duyvil - very cloudy, nearly headless amber out of the tap - very alcoholic, boozy aroma, with hints of wet oak, cherries, other fruity esters, some light vegetable earthiness - loads of oxidation and booziness in the flavor - the alcohol was way too evident, and at times astringent - some oak, vanilla and fruity esters made their presence felt, but overall this seemed like a past-its-prime beer that probably wasn’t all that good in its prime to begin with.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Sampled at the Ohio Labor Day gathering, provided by me via trade with OldGrowth. Bottled 1 November 2004, Batch 3, Bottle #634. Dark red-brown body, thin off-white head. Big bourbon nose with sweet candyish malts, caramely, and fruity. Strong bourbon naturally made the first impression on my palate, the body also being leathery with musty dark fruits and caramel. Surprisingly subdued alcohol. A very good, complex barleywine aided rather than hindered by bourbon cask aging, as the big malts balanced out the bourbon heat. Worth a purchase for those who like their barleywines on the sweet side.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Orange hued ale with no head. Light malty floral hops nose, with notes of wild roses. Very smooth and light BW, with seducing hops. Rather light in body, but well balanced. It is good, but not worth the 20$ asking price. Un gros merci a Dumdum!
Oakes (33493) reviewed Chaotic Chemistry from Magic Hat Brewing Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Fiery amber colour. Fruity, flowery nose – vanilla, cherry, malts, booze (this was aged in bourbon but I’ll be damned if I’m not getting more port than anything else). Assertive, wonderful aroma that you just want to fall into. The palate, however, does not measure up. It is significantly milder, foiled in part by too much fizz in the carbonation. It is less flowery, and less sweet. Still enjoyable, but it is always sad when the flavour of a beer does not measure up to the aroma. Thanks, muzzlehatch!