Barrel Aged Barley Wine
Hyouko Yashiki No Mori Brewery (Swan Lake) in Agano, Niigata, Japan 🇯🇵
Barley Wine - Barley Regular|
Score
7.31
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Appearance - 5 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Draft at Swan Lake, Tokyo. Murky brown with a ring tan head. Aroma of butterscotch, oak, toffee and vanilla. Flavour is heavy sweet. Full bodied with soft carbonation.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Tap at the Swan Lake Pub, Edo. 2015 vintage at their 7th anniversary party. Poured a murky medium brown colour with little life. The aroma is sweet malt, vanilla, boozy alcohol. The flavour is moderate sweet with a rich smooth, boozy grainy, oaky, light molasses. Full bodied with flat carbonation.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Dark red brown color. Big burnt raisins with a touch of oak and vanilla but not overly sweet or huge. The mouth is surprisingly light for 10% with barrel aged character not too deep. Overly all easy drinking.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle thanks to KBL. Buttery caramel nose, vanilla, oranges. Cloudy orange-amber with lace. Lovely flavor, caramel, oranges, peaces, good hops, vanilla, wood. Very subtle and yet complex. Good, but way over-priced and not as good as the BA IS.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Swan Lake Barley Barrel Aged 11% Bottle direct from the brewery served in a snifter. It pours a matte brown-brass with a thin fastly dissipating head. The aroma is nicely balanced: oak, a bit of peat, some fruity heat and sweetness. After the somewhat middle-of-the-road aroma the flavor made me say "wow, this is good". Full creamy body, fruits (candied plums, figs, raisins), fudge/toffee, oak, a sweet barrel character with a toasted vanilla flavor in the aftertaste. You get the barrel character but it is much less aggressive than US barrel-aged beers. Not as impressive as their BA Imperial Stout but really well done. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone