Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine
pFriem Family Brewers in Hood River, Oregon, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Rotating|
Score
7.58
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Graceful caramel and baking spice aromas awaken your palate, reminding you of a treasured bottle of Bourbon. A hearty sip brings out fig and dried plum, expectant of beers showing the benefit of age. Brown sugar and dried fruit linger on the pallet, highlighted by a sophisticated resonance of American oak.
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7.9/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
2022. Amber-brown. No head.The aroma is woody, and there's some nice fruity depth. This has a rounded, raisiny sort of character. It's clean - doesn't have the heady notes of the 2024, and that makes all the difference. Really allows the sugars and fruitiness to shine through.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Oct 2025
at 04:42
6.4/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 6
Flavor 6.5
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Amber-brown colour. No head. The aroma is kind of headsy, a touch of bubblegum. On the palate, it's got a boozy accent, the malt is a bit toffeeish but doesn't come together all that well. With a touch of warmth the esters blow off, which helps the sugars to come out, but it's boozy, a bit headsy. Kind of uncoordinated.
Tried
from Bottle
from
Elizabeth Station
on 15 Oct 2025
at 04:39
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Poured from 375mL bottle (2022 vintage; side by side with 2024 vintage). Clear-ish amber brown with very minimal beige off white head. Soft caramel and toffee malt with feint oak (2024 has more of a charred wood). This one is a bit softer, also doesn't have the estery bubble gum of 2024. Prefer the 2022 overall.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Oct 2025
at 04:34
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Poured from 375mL bottle (2024 vintage; side by side with 2022 vintage). Clear-ish amber brown with very minimal off white head. 2024 has a fair bit more wood, some estery bubble gum notes, slightly harsh booziness, quite different than 2022. Prefer the softer nature of 2022 overall.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Oct 2025
at 04:33
9/10
Reminds me of malt soda from how deliciously malty sweet it is, plus tons of vanilla bourbon okay notes and caramel syrup galore. Jeez it's great.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Jul 2024
at 22:32
7.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Taster at pFriem. Mahogany pour, relatively flat. Swete, boosy aroma, molassess. Taste is brown sugar, whiskey, barrel, sweet. Smooh, slick feel with a little heat.
Tried
on 08 May 2023
at 03:46
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
375ml @ Matt's new place. A hot tub beer. Appearance: hazy copper with a weak tan head. Aroma: a bit oxidized, caramel, toffee, some bourbon. Taste: along the same lines, moderately to highly sweet. Overall: good one.
Tried
on 10 Mar 2023
at 06:11
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
375mL bottle, pours a murky dark amber brown with a small beige head. Aroma brings out a nice bourbon barrel character upfront, along with caramel malt, bready notes, toffee, and a touch of dark fruits. Flavour is rich and treacly, with toffee, caramel, bready malt, and plenty of bourbon barrels. Nice barrel character to complement the toffee malt. On the sweet side and not particularly complex. Good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Mar 2023
at 06:07
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Shared bottle at tasting. Amber color with white head. Aroma of caramel, sweet malt, honey, light spices. Very good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Aug 2022
at 20:12
9/10
Wooh I'm glad I didn't pass on this one but it always helps that these small bottles are priced so well. Super fig brown sugar sticky sweet bourbon barrel forward deliciousness.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Jan 2022
at 20:52