I just picked up this 750 ml bottle of this limited release ale from Whole Foods. I've been on a barleywine kick lately, probably something to do with the fact we've been brewing barleywines for months. The box says that it's brewed with huskless malt and Belgian candy sugar.
Appearance: A color the appearance of fine mahogany with a thin whitish head that dissipates quickly. Leaves some lacing when the head disappears.
Smell: Citrus and cherry notes jump out at me right away. I also get some dark chocolate and toffee.
Taste: Reminds me a little of a toffee crunch candy bar with some cherry or raspberry flavors. The hops are very apparent from start to finish, but not overwhelming. Not overly sweet and the hops cuts that really well.
Mouthfeel: The smooth caramel feel at the beginning is replaced with hoppy bitterness at the finish. The hops and malt linger for quite a while but it's balanced enough that it's not a problem. The carbonation is light and prickly.
Overall: This not your usual spring-time ale and I'm surprised it's their limited Spring release. However, the day is cloudy and I have nothing else to do but nap off the 9.5% alcohol. Very hoppy for a barleywine but it's malty enough to balance that out. The further I got into the bottle, the more the malt came out and my enjoyment increased. Not my favorite barleywine but certainly a good bottle. I bet it'd age really well. I'd give it a B.
Six reviewers at Beeradvocate.com averaged to a B+. The New School Brew Blog gave it a 4.5 out of 5 and Brewbound gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
Image taken from the New School Brew blog.
Will you be reviewing any lagers? I demand it. And also, Meg should be getting the glass with more beer. So ungentlemanly. Gosh.
ReplyDelete-Dana
Well, there's no schedule for reviews. It's really just as we drink them. I promise to drink a lager soon and then there will be a review. We will certainly review our lager, but that's about a month away from existing.
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