Bristol Brewing Company Old No. 23 Barley Wine

Old No. 23 Barley Wine

 

Bristol Brewing Company in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States 🇺🇸

  Barley Wine - Barley Regular
Score
7.22
ABV: 11.3% IBU: - Ticks: 26
Our biggest beer by far, Old No. 23 revives an English farmhouse brewery tradition of making a strong ale to set aside for special occasions. Our version, while tedious and time-consuming to brew, rewards the connoisseur with an ale that has the depth and complexity of a good brandy or single malt scotch. Massive quantities of malt and hops, a long aging time and limited availability make this a special ale worthy of its reputation.
 

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7.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle @ home. Dark purple brown appearance with a small tan head. Very sweet, berry, caramel malty, light toffee, light spiciness, mild hoppy nose. Very sweet, smooth caramel malty, red fruity, earthy hoppy flavor. Big sweet caramel malty aftertaste. A surprisingly nice brew.

Tried from Bottle on 10 Aug 2011 at 22:52


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

12 oz bottle purchased at Dillon Ridge Liquors in Dillon, Colorado. 2010 notched on the side of the label. Pour is quite dark golden brown, with a small and loose tan head. Dissipates almost right away. Aroma is darkly toasted malt, along with a floral sweetness and a less pronounced dried fruit. Hint of iodine as well. Taste is the floral, though it is a spiced dry floral rather than sweet, along with the mildly salty dried fruit. The malt is present, but is a touch thin and dry, opening up to a pretty hot finish. Palate is medium bodied, nice un filtered mouth feel, a bit oily, though that clears up with the hot dry finish. I have not had a Barley Wine in awhile, so I enjoyed drinking this. Nice beer, glad I grabbed it.

Tried from Bottle on 20 Jul 2011 at 19:39


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

bottle. amber colour with a beige head. Aroma is alcohol, malt, caramel. Flavour is sweet, sugar, malt, alcohol, hop, dried fruit, oxidation. full body. Complex beer.

Tried from Bottle on 25 Apr 2011 at 01:48


7.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

355 ml bottle. Dim, reddish orange body with a diminishing tan head. Aromas of sweet malt, caramel, dry fruit, raisins, spices and alcohol. Flavor is sweet malt, dry fruit, spices, caramel, balanced bitter and warming alcohol. Nice body, fine balance, a solid barley wine closer to the American style.

Tried from Bottle on 21 Mar 2011 at 02:21


6.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle 355ml @ yngwie
Pours brown with a off-white head, Aroma has notes of barley, molasses, malt, brown sugar and dried fruits. Taste is medium sweet and light bitter. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat.

Tried from Bottle on 07 Mar 2011 at 14:21


7.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle, 12oz. It pours a more or less clear body, brown in color and a small, off-white to light beige head. Alcohol, citrus, pine cones, dried fruits, caramel and alcohol on the nose. Complex and pleasant. The flavor has much the same found in the aroma. Full-bodied, warming and sweet on the palate. Low on carbonation, but that’s pleasant. Complex flavor too, with caramel, citrusy, piney hops, bitterness and a meaty touch. Lasting finish. A tasteful, delightful beer that lasts and pleases. Nice. 110301

Tried from Bottle on 01 Mar 2011 at 12:22


7.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle, this year’s batch - pours a hazy ruby with a soapy lace - sweet nose of port, cherry, toffee, bread pudding, plum, some whiskey-ish notes - low carbonation - very easy drinking for the strength, with extremely well-masked alcohol - starts of somewhat treacly sweet, with plum and toffee being fairly apparent - a bit of date - however, a lovely earthy bitterness develops that balances that beautifully - some earthy, peaty, scotch-like notes and some cherry quality - lingering hop bitterness through the finish - I like it fresh with the hop bitterness to balance, but would be interest to try aged samples - very tasty.

Tried from Bottle on 02 Dec 2010 at 20:42


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

Bottle from Supermarket Liquors in Fort Collins, CO. Pours dark amber with a foamy 1 finger beige/tan head. Sort of a date aroma. Near full bodied with carbonation I am at a loss to describe. Flavor is dark brown fruit and dark brown malt. Finishes a bit more sweet than not. Goes down all too well.

Tried from Bottle on 10 Oct 2010 at 20:16


7.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

2009 bottle thanks to jbye4334. Pours with a small and fading tan head over a very deep mahogany to ruby body. Aroma is quite pungent with dark fruits, raisins, toffee, port, sherry, cocoa, chocolate, plums, rum cake. Some oatmeal raisin cookie. Alcohol, dark fruits, sherry and a bit of soggy malts (wet dog) on the flavor. Decently sweet and decadent up front. Long duration, slightly bitter finish. Some bitter dark fruit and bitterness from tannin extraction from the grain. Full bodied. Alcohol is noticeable, but has mellowed enough so that it is not burning or presents itself as fusel. Full weighted mouthfeel, light bubbles and syrupy.

Tried from Bottle on 22 Feb 2010 at 17:16


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

11th October 2008. GABF. Sourish malt. The hops are there but don’t dominate. Aromatic tasty barleywine but not outstanding.

Tried on 17 Jan 2010 at 07:41