6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Dark toffee colored beer with a tan head. Light toffee aroma. Toffee, caramel, earthy flavor with backing hops. Medium body. Toffee lingers. Nice. Very drinkable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Jan 2008
at 22:18
5.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
Purchased at Knightly Spirits in Orlando. The bottle has BBEOCT06 stamped on the neck. Pours clear amber and it took some coaxing to get a quickly dissipating half inch tan head. This beer is thin and watered down for a barleywine. I can sense it in the aroma. There’s dark fruit, vanilla and not much else in the nose. There’s none of the sticky chewy malt sludginess there like a typical barleywine. The over all mouth feel and taste makes me think this was cut with a non trivial amount of water to thin it out. In the flavor there’s mild dark fruitiness, cream soda, thin vanilla extract and caramel. The taste is alright but off-putting for the style.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Jan 2008
at 21:41
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Ruby colored ale with a small, light tan head. Toasty wood, dark fruit, plums, figs, and some earth. Not much carbonation in this medium thick brew. Flavor is dark fruits, caramel, sweet malts, light earth tones, and a bit of tart cherry. Didn’t pick up on the 7.5% alcohol. At times this reminded me of a light barley wine; good brew.
Tried
on 12 Jan 2008
at 07:58
7.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Cask handpull at Wetherspoons, Folkestone. So refreshing to have a normal bitter. Chestnut brown. Looks in good condition. Toasty nutty malty aroma. Good in mouth, good carbonation, then a malty swallow with subtle hop sting. Excellent bitter.
Tried
from Cask
on 08 Jan 2008
at 11:13
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
1998 275ml Bottle a present from Enniskillen from Uber Tavern; Nose of raisins, caramel, and a hint of alcohol; cloudy rust color with a medium straw head; flavor is sweet, juicy raisins and caramel; finish is still sweet. 1989 275ml bottle shared by Odeed. Nose of toffee, sherry, and alcohol. Clear brown with very little carbonation, just a few bubbles. Flavor of oxidation, alcohol, toffee, and sherry wine. Not near as good as the 1998 I had. 7/3/7/3/7/ 3.4
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Jan 2008
at 15:18
7.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Smooth roasted malt aroma with chocolate notes. Essentially black in color with ruby hilites at the edges. The tan head never really arrived, just came flat and ringed. Full bodied with mild smooth carbonation. Flavor is roasted malt, dry, with varying fruits. Something of tobacco is arguable. Chocolate goes back and forth. Finish is a very nice, smooth clean sensation. Not really bitter at all. Drinks a bit like a port, but the flavor and alcohol aren’t similar. More baltic porters should move this direction. It’s really a good drink.
Tried
on 28 Dec 2007
at 19:43
6.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
(Cask at Eagle, Hoxton, London, 28 Nov 2007) Dark ruby colour with frothy, off-white head. Fruity, slightly sourish nose with notes of cowberries and spices. Fruity, spicy taste with cowberries, raspberries and caramel. A bit strange.
Tried
from Cask
on 14 Dec 2007
at 16:30
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Pours a clear pale copper with white head. The aroma has classic barleywine notes of figs, prunes and raisins mixed with sweet malts and caramel. There’s also a nice wood note in the nose mingling with a sense of the ABV. The taste begins with a bolt of carbonation punctuating the figs and sweet cherry notes. Then a malty sweetness mixed with a hint of wood joins mild caramel as the flavor moves to the finish. Smooth. Very nice caramel candy and wood notes linger at length in the after taste along with sweet dark fruity esters.
Tried
from Can
on 12 Dec 2007
at 21:18
7.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Pours a clear copper with weak off white head. The aroma is full of fruity esters like fresh ripe plums, figs, dates and prunes. A brief caramel malt note is noticed amid a background of port and wood notes that run the length of the aromatic experience. Very nice smooth tasting barleywine. It seems to begin with ripe cherries, sweet dark grapes, figs, sugar coated plums and stewed raisins. I then get port mixed with maple syrup and wood. The taste winds down on the sweet side with increasing maple syrup, alcohol warmth, wood, caramel and residuel dark fruity esters.
Tried
on 12 Dec 2007
at 21:16
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
2005 Vintage. Pours clear copper with weak off white head. Without any effort a bold sweet malty and fruity aroma is offered up out of the glass. Upon further investigation sweet plums, prunes and figs are noticed backed up by molasses, wood, a hint of caramel candy and booze. The taste experience begins with an initial medium bodied mouth feel that grows thick and viscous into the finish. The fluid ushers in some wood and malty sweetness first before the dark fruity esters take over with sugar coated plums, figs, prunes and stewed raisins. About midway the fruitiness becomes more sweet boysenberry like. The malts seem to go from the initial sugary malt sweetness to caramel candy, mildly roasted malts and then toward molasses and maple syrup. Toward the finish the wood, maple syrup and sweet caramel malts mix with a sense of booze. I get a lingering sense of all the flavors going deep into the after taste. Very nice.
Tried
from Can
on 12 Dec 2007
at 21:14