Heirloom Pumpkin Barleywine
Almanac Beer Company in Alameda, California, United States 🇺🇸
Spiced / Herbed / Vegetable / Honey - Pumpkin Regular|
Score
7.15
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 10 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
Rating #7001, as #9 of my 7000 celebration (7 on either side of the milestone as well as #7000. Beautiful deep brown coloured body with a thinnish, tan head, about three or four centimetres tall at first that dies down immediately and shows a great glowing ruby and copper glow when held up to a light. Aroma of great soured pitted fruits with a lot of grain, grapes, cherries, light spices, a touch of turmeric and peaches and a very nice malt bite with a lot of yeast and some caramel and sweetness around - this one smells like a winner and very nice, without any alcohol detected in the nose. Medium-bodied; Super tart flavours at first with some squash and pumpkin pie spice noticeable along with some nutmeg and coriander seed with a touch of yeast, grain, peat and brown/caramelised sugars as well, make this very nice and incredibly complex with some tart notes at the tail end as well. Aftertaste shows the depth in terms of flavours with the soured/tart notes at first then fade to a pleasant sweetness with a robust fruit flavour and showing a great grainy profile with some squash noticeable and a lot of yeast with a smooth malt and spice hit towards the end. Overall, a very nice beer that is almost as far removed from a 'traditional' barley wine as I could imagine, but that said - a great beer throughout with the soured/tart flavours that make this an 'Almanac' beer with a great profile and rich set of flavours that somehow allow the palate/finish to be very well muted and subtle, but in a great way. An amazing beer, and despite the price, one that I'll be looking for to age and store various vintages over time to see how they mature. I sampled this 37,5 cL bottle purchased from Murray's Cheese in New York (West Village), New York on 09-November-2014 for US$13,99 while I just had one kid, sampled at home in Washington on the day I closed on my very first home, with three kids on 28-August-2018.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
375ml bottle. Pours deep orange brown. Cinnamon, nutmeg, earthy, toffee, pumpkin, black pepper, rye whisky, sultanas, plums. Full low carbonated body. About as good as a pumpkin beer can be.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle. Copper color. Aroma: baked pumpkin, sweet spices, cake, fruit, slight touch of acidity, sweet nectar. Taste: weird, sweet and sour, pumpkin, wine, dried fruits.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
28.06.2016, 0,375l bottle @ home:
Nice fizzy-creamy mediumlasting head. Aroma is slightly sweet sour-ish, pumpkin, spices, sorrel, caramel malts, oak, mild vinegar, sour dark fruits, minerals, grass. Taste is slightly sour-ish, sorrel, oak, spices, caramel malts, pumpkin, minerals, mild vinegar, bourbon, sour dark fruits, grass. Medium bitterness, slightly sour-ish mouthfeel. Nice.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5
Hazy, amber-brown colour. The aroma has assertive cinnamon and nutmeg, not showing much of the alcohol. On the palate, it’s messier...alcoholic, tart, the spices are a mess. Overall this is a messy brew.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5
Tasting at Matt’s
Dark amber color, hazy. Strong aroma of spices, that smells like soap. Good body strength; a bit sour, malty, caramelly, and a lot of soapy spices. Burning alcohol.
To me, not pleasant.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5
375mL bottle, pours a hazy amber orange with a small white head. Aroma brings out a mix of pumpkins spices and bready caramel malt. Flavour is along the same lines, with intense spices, some herbal notes, and bready caramel malts. Not a big fan of this. Decently done for what it is. Meh.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle - Very sticky pumpkin spice. Cloudy Amber with a small whitish head. Sweet, pumpkin spice and a light tartness. Not bad.