Moonraker

Deep brown,huge beige head.Lightly alcoholic malt nose. Whiskeylike, brown sugar, molasses taste

Pours deep amber into a snifter. Tan head recedes with variable sheet lacing. Power juicy fruit aromas. Fizzy prunes. Lasting angustura finish. Almost painful. Orval is to trappist as Moonraker is to...?

Bottle on 06/26/2010. Slightly cloudy dark amber body with a medium rocky off-white head. Slightly tart caramel and fruit aroma. Slightly tart caramel, fruit and molasses flavor with some english hops. Medium full body with moderately low carbonation. 7/3/7/3/13 - 3.3 01/20/2006 - Clear dark red color with an off-white head. Malty aroma with hints of cherry. Caramel flavor with a light cherry taste. 7/3/8/3/13 - 3.4

This one poured a nice muddy brown with a small head afloat. The aroma was subdued malts but well below expectations for a Barleywine. The flavor was similar to the aroma. Just overall lacking in intensity and fullness. Disappointing, as the Harvest Ale is so well done.

Undated bottle (probably 2003) Very drab off-brown color with some ruddy oranges in there. Small pale yellow-coffee head and lots of sediment. Flavor smells sweet and nutty and quite sugary. Like a snickers bar, almost, but with extra caramel. Seems promising. . .but then, it begins with a hugely dry dirty/earthy flavor that persists. Similar to Harvey’s Elizabethan, there is that face-full-of-black-dirt flavor, but unlike in Harveys, this does not seem to go away. Watery body does not help out either. Fairly one-sided caramel malt flavoring, with some earthiness (as I said) dominating from the hops and yeast. I let this thing warm, and did everything I could to get it to taste good, but to no avail. Lightly acidic on the finish and just way too thin. Having sampled this and the Harvest Ale, these guys don’t exactly come across as the epitome of a balanced beer. Too sweet, or too dry, too syrupy or too watery.

This Barley Wine pours a dark reddish-brown color with a thin light brown head. Thin lacing. The aroma is malty and fruity. Lighter body than most Barley Wines, with flavors of roasted malt, caramel, and fruit. The finish is very sweet and borderline cloying. Not the best of the style, but maybe a "Beginner's Barley Wine" due to the lighter body and more sedate flavors.

Since I really love the harvest ale, I was expecting a great deal from this, and I have to say I am a bit disappointed. This beer is downright chunky. There are huge floaties; it looks like there are pebbles in here. The aroma is pretty good, with large doses of yeast, fruits and pastries. The flavor is decent as well, but not great. Peppery, spicy, some malty sweetness, some espresso as others pointed out. The finish, however, is astringent and bitter, overshadowing any goodness left behind by the flavor. No balance. I'd say it needs some aging, but I have no idea how old this bottle is.