6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Undated bottle. Thick, syrupy looking dark brown pour. Some red hues on the edges, light oranges as well. Small diminishing off-white head. Lightly bubbly. Aroma of dry barley, lots of raisins, prunes, brown sugar, alcohol and sweet cherries. Touch of hops adds some nice earthiness. Flavor is heavily sweet, prunes, figs, raisins and sweet black cherries. Not seeing much balancing bitterness and not much alcohol noticeable either. Mouthfeel is very flat, lightly thin, only a medium body, a touch syrupy.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Jun 2004
at 16:05
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Sampled cask conditioned at Dansk Ølfestival.
Bronze colour. Flowery hoppy nose. Sweet, soft and rounded. Spicy and soapy. Medium bitterness.
Bronze colour. Flowery hoppy nose. Sweet, soft and rounded. Spicy and soapy. Medium bitterness.
Tried
from Cask
on 17 May 2004
at 05:47
6.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 5.5
Pours a dark brown with almost no head. looks like molasses. Flavor is burn sugar and carmel that turns into a very thick swallow.
Tried
on 07 May 2004
at 21:39
7.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
1998 bottling - murky, dark amber color, with nearly no carbonation - bracing, complex aroma of plums, dates, brown sugar, tartness, belgian-like mustiness, and earth - striking balance of slight sweet and bitter qualities (don't be mistaken, the bitterness is very low, but present) - smokey/roasty, dark fruit, grape skins - high level of vinous notes and hints of...bourbon? - I detect a tiny bit of hops in the finish, or is that some kind of roasted malt? - hard to tell - this very much reminds me of the barleywines George Gale makes - equally as complex, but much less tart and, in my opinion, has a bit more balance.
Tried
on 04 Apr 2004
at 20:33
6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 6
Very clear amber with greenish shine; quite carbonated but everything got knocked out whilst pouring, leaving a white rim. Not only it looks, but also smells like an old, oxydised beer. But BBd is still 3 months away (nutty, port, cake, oxydised). Definitely prematurely aged beer. Nutty taste, bit of coloured malt, grain but no wheat. Retronasal typical biscuit. Conform to the rest, mouthfeel is very thin & tired. Something went quite wrong here, I'm not sure what. If this beer were 15 years old, I'd say it didn't age gracefully, probably because of its low ABV. But it isn't old. Even worse. It doesn't fulfill ONE SINGLE characteristic for an Hefeweizen. It's even filtered!
Tried
on 15 Mar 2004
at 13:58
7.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
1996 Bottle (#1207) from Kahn's: Pours a murky dark brownish amber color with a minimal beige head. Very quick and thin lacing. Fruit, caramel and malt in the nose. Medium body with an earthy character and flavors of fruit, malt, alcohol and caramel. The finish is kind of soft and fruity, maybe the age has softened the hops bite somewhat. Overall this was an interesting Barley Wine.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Mar 2004
at 09:21
9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Cask conditioned at the White Horse, Parsons Green, London. Copper colour, moderate to low head. Very aromatic, dark fruits and barnyard. Dry hopped in the cask? Interesting hoppy and spicy bite from start to finish. An excellent bitter! (A pint I had later at The Tottenham was not nearly that good. A well kept cask is a must!)
Tried
from Cask
on 10 Mar 2004
at 16:06
8.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9.5
2000 bottle consumed February 29 2004.
Finally decided to break this one out. Thick, viscous, oily deep dark black, could not get any head out of mine. Opaque, bottle conditioned. Aroma that you can almost drink; french roast coffee, rich dark chocolate, heavily roasted barley, light hints of maple and soy. Incredible. Flavor is immediately very salty and in your face, and makes a quick transition in to black roasted malt. Flavor deepens and adds some bitter chocolate, and plenty of vinous alcohol notes. Oak barrel flavor is subtle and combines well with the deep roast. Bitter, dark coffee on the finish and some more woodiness with a hint of anise and hazelnuts. Incredibly complex, delicious and full-bodied, supremely well-balanced. Sure, it has some preliminary signs of oxidation; there is some thinning on the finish, but it adds a vintage feel to this and stretches out the flavors. 9/4/8/4/18
2001 bottle Drunk on 11/02/05 at Sunset Grille
Completely flat pour. Even vigorously pouring it results in no head. Aroma of deep black chocolate and espresso, with a thick, pervasive dusty, cardboardy-like yeast. Prunes and lots of vinousness. Not too shabby in the nose, were it not for the thick, dulling yeast. Flavor really has suffered, unfortunately. Thick, dull, dirty yeast remeniscent of bacterial infections I’ve tasted in T. Hardys. Flat, oxidized mouthfeel. The strong black bitterness and sourish vinousness go nowhere when the beer is in this condition. A pity, really and I’m torn as to whether to lower the score. But having had this only twice now and seeing the other poor ratings, I think I will. If future samples prove that this is just an anomaly, I doubt I will count this sample. 8/2/5/2/9
1999 bottle drunk on 2/17/07
This was a strange experience to say the least. Decork it and….nothing, no carbonation escaping. The pour is completely flat and lifeless. Hmmm, this dosent bode well…But, one smell of the aroma and I’m shocked. Smells divine! All the prunes, vanilla, tar, roast and delicious chocolate you could want, without any oxidation. Flavor took some breathing, much like an old wine, but after about 25 minutes or so, it really made a huge improvement and the flavors lightened/softened and it was actually pretty enjoyable drinking. Mouthfeel/texture was very similar to wine, but the flavor had a profound and very enjoyable smokiness, with lots of char, oil and crunchy coffee. Some bitter chocolate notes on the finish, with moderate saltiness and a hint of sweet vanilla running through it. Light suggestions of brandy in the nose, upon breathing. Really phenomenal stuff. I’m going to discount my previous bad example and chalk it up to problems with shipping/storage. I really think if you get this stuff from the source and cellar it properly, it will rarely (if ever) disappoint.
Finally decided to break this one out. Thick, viscous, oily deep dark black, could not get any head out of mine. Opaque, bottle conditioned. Aroma that you can almost drink; french roast coffee, rich dark chocolate, heavily roasted barley, light hints of maple and soy. Incredible. Flavor is immediately very salty and in your face, and makes a quick transition in to black roasted malt. Flavor deepens and adds some bitter chocolate, and plenty of vinous alcohol notes. Oak barrel flavor is subtle and combines well with the deep roast. Bitter, dark coffee on the finish and some more woodiness with a hint of anise and hazelnuts. Incredibly complex, delicious and full-bodied, supremely well-balanced. Sure, it has some preliminary signs of oxidation; there is some thinning on the finish, but it adds a vintage feel to this and stretches out the flavors. 9/4/8/4/18
2001 bottle Drunk on 11/02/05 at Sunset Grille
Completely flat pour. Even vigorously pouring it results in no head. Aroma of deep black chocolate and espresso, with a thick, pervasive dusty, cardboardy-like yeast. Prunes and lots of vinousness. Not too shabby in the nose, were it not for the thick, dulling yeast. Flavor really has suffered, unfortunately. Thick, dull, dirty yeast remeniscent of bacterial infections I’ve tasted in T. Hardys. Flat, oxidized mouthfeel. The strong black bitterness and sourish vinousness go nowhere when the beer is in this condition. A pity, really and I’m torn as to whether to lower the score. But having had this only twice now and seeing the other poor ratings, I think I will. If future samples prove that this is just an anomaly, I doubt I will count this sample. 8/2/5/2/9
1999 bottle drunk on 2/17/07
This was a strange experience to say the least. Decork it and….nothing, no carbonation escaping. The pour is completely flat and lifeless. Hmmm, this dosent bode well…But, one smell of the aroma and I’m shocked. Smells divine! All the prunes, vanilla, tar, roast and delicious chocolate you could want, without any oxidation. Flavor took some breathing, much like an old wine, but after about 25 minutes or so, it really made a huge improvement and the flavors lightened/softened and it was actually pretty enjoyable drinking. Mouthfeel/texture was very similar to wine, but the flavor had a profound and very enjoyable smokiness, with lots of char, oil and crunchy coffee. Some bitter chocolate notes on the finish, with moderate saltiness and a hint of sweet vanilla running through it. Light suggestions of brandy in the nose, upon breathing. Really phenomenal stuff. I’m going to discount my previous bad example and chalk it up to problems with shipping/storage. I really think if you get this stuff from the source and cellar it properly, it will rarely (if ever) disappoint.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Mar 2004
at 08:41
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
A red beer with a small beige head. The aroma is sweet caramel with notes of hops, oil, and grass. The flavor is of grass and hops and the end is very bitter. A lovely beer.
Tried
on 28 Feb 2004
at 05:52
5.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6
The aroma is sweet malty with hints of fruit. The color is red brown and it has a fine brown head. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of roasted bread. But the body is thin as noted by the others.
Tried
on 28 Feb 2004
at 05:15