Jolly Abbott
Hermit Thrush Brewery in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.48
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Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Jolly Abbott from Hermit Thrush Brewery 3 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Undated can drunk 10/1/22. Clear, dark amber-with a ruddy tint and a small, pinkish/yellow-tinged, beige head that runs to edge. Souring bacteria and red and white wine galore with light caramel, molasses and vanilla. Juicy red wine, caramel-vanilla and plentiful souring bacteria adding moderate acetic and moderate lactic acidity. The acetic is pretty strong but the massive malt does help soak up a lot of it. Nice grape character, mineral....so god damned juicy. Sticky brown sugar and vanilla. As with most of these big ass Hermit Thrush's, somehow free of alcohol character.
jgb9348 (11828) reviewed Jolly Abbott from Hermit Thrush Brewery 6 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
Deep dark brown coloured body with a thinnish, relatively fast-dying off-white head that shows a subtle lace on the sides after a few minutes. Aroma of very tart, vinous notes with a lot of grapes, blackberries, raspberries, oak foeders and a bunch of vinegar notes, without any real alcohol in the nose, or any yeast or malt, but that is a different topic all together. Light to Medium-bodied; Super tart, fruit-centric beer with berries, light figs, soft apples and pears on the edges with some mellow vinegar notes, but more of the tart fruit than any vinegar, and again - no taste of malt or alcohol at all - very odd, especially for the [reported] style (naturally) and for the alcohol content. Aftertaste is beautiful with the sweet fruits, the tart berries, a lot of sweetness from figs and grapes and a smooth dryness that shows the oak and foeders, but also sometime afterwards, shows the 13,0 per cent in terms of boozey feeling and literally no boozey flavours come in at all - crazy, and great at the same time. Overall, an amazing beer, for sour lovers, for 'traditional' barley wine drinkers for those who love wilds, you name it - this is almost for everyone, except those (usually me) who cannot handle a 13 per cent alcohol beer, especially in a sixteen ounce format, but perhaps I timed it right in aging this, but if I can find others of this on my next trips up to the North East, I will be buying a bunch of this and aging it for years over. I sampled this sixteen ounce, pint-sized can, purchased from Beverage Warehouse in Winooski, Vermont on 19-September-2016 for US$8,84 sampled at home in Washington about 3.5 years after purchase on 10-February-2020.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
This was poured into a chalice.
The appearance was a dark burnt amber color with a thin white foamy cap of a head. No lacing.
The smell had some of the normal qualities of an American Barleywine hiding underneath big dry sour woody notes of HT’s yeast.
The flavor rests upon the balance of the woody dryness. From the sweet to the sour to the tart with a kick of lemon. All blends into the aftertaste and complements nicely on the finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body. Sour boozinesss feels create a sipping quality. Carbonation feels fine.
Overall, yes, I can see it as an American Barleywine with HT’s creativity of making it sour. Quite interesting, perhaps again.