A classic barley wine, a style originally brewed by the butlers to the English and American aristocracy. It is brewed from three mashes of heirloom British malt and spiced with aromatic American Willamette, Cascade, and Fuggle hops. After four months of aging, it has a magnificent burnished copper color, and aroma redolent of sherry, citrusy hops and fruit, a soft warming complex palate, a spiritous finish, and a strength of 10.8%. It is vivacious when young, but will age gracefully for many years, becoming more complex over time.
Beer Ratings and Reviews:
[1] Review by mmmmBeer from Edmonton, Canada who has tried this beer a couple times. (4/21/2008 10:27:20 PM)
"I also managed to get a decent sized tan crown out of the bottle and into my vintage Budweiser chalice (why does this chalice exist) and as all barley wines the crown reduces to a small ring around the edge. The body appears to be blood orange (thanks Nat for that new color name). First sniff is very woody with mild chocolaty notes, peachy hops, and alcohol round off the aroma. To much alcohol in the flavour for my liking, wow after the first couple of sips my stomach feels like its on fire. Lots of dark woody malts in the flavour, wow this is intense, loads of bitterness in the after taste. Way to much alcohol in this for me and its not hidden very well nor is it the kind that is tasty. For a beer this is dam tasty but for an English barley wine it’s kind of disappointing but my god after one 355ml bottle my head swimming. "
Aroma:
5/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
6/10
Flavor:
5/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 355ml @ $2.54 Unit Cost: $3.39 per Pint
[2] Review by changeup45 from Orlando, Florida, USA who has tried this beer once. (4/18/2008 9:49:31 PM)
"2007 bottle. I just don't have the patience to let it sit longer. Pours a copper color with some ruby red in there and a thick off-white head which settles to a thin layer. Aroma is rather subtle considering the abv with some tangy fruits, caramel malts, and alcohol. It's sort of like a fruity brandy. The beer is definitely a sipper but it didn't blow me away. At first taste it is rather mild with tangy fruits and some caramel. The hops show a little late with some spices and a cherry alcoholic flavor. Actually it kind of reminds me of cherry cough medicine but not that strong. Warming with a mild alcohol burn. Considering what this is it is really easy to drink. A good, fun beer to try that surely gets better with age as it does lack character. "
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
9/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.7)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 12oz @ $2.5 Unit Cost: $3.33 per Pint
[3] Review by chedderrob from Crofton, MD, USA who has tried this beer once. (4/6/2008 4:07:33 PM)
"The aroma is sweet malty with notes of alcohol, and apples. A fantastic aroma. The color is dark amber and it has a beutiful though disappearing head. The flavor is slightly fruity and sweet malty in the beginning with good notes of slightly sour apples, bananas, and burnt caramel. In the middle a slight but undistingable alcohol runs over the tongue. It starts out gently but explodes in a cascade of flavor impressions in the end."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
9/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.3)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 12oz @ $2.29 Unit Cost: $3.05 per Pint
[4] Review by beercronic from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada who has tried this beer once. (2/11/2008 11:26:19 PM)
"Fresh out of the store, I've got 5 more that have earned a spot in the cellar.
Well, I've only had a handful of sips and my brain is already buzzing - guess I won't be slamming this. I managed to get a decent sized white crown out of the bottle and into my vintage Budweiser chalice (it's true!!) but it died and lives as a ring, no surprise there. Crystal clear dark burnt orange with more emphasis on the burnt hue. The aroma is not over the top and has some really nice sherry smell along with the usual boatload of malts (quite sweet, bread, background caramel) and a wack of hops (fuzzy peach 5 cent candies, weak grapefruit, possibly lemon and a large flowery presence) with the hops at this point being dominant. The sips are excellent - very tasty and flavourful with the citrus and floral qualities of the hops taking the lead. The malts seem a bit dark, sweet and probably breadlike. The hops, well, at this point, I've almost lost them along with most of my motor skills. Pretty close to full bodied. Nice and smooth. Whoa - by sucking my tongue to the roof of my mouth I've hit a wealth of woody qualities (no homo) that remind me of bark. Briefly tart, intense bitterness and a bit of heat but it's not really prominent. Long permanent bitter aftertaste with something that reminds me of walnuts? peacan? I guess I'm not too familiar with nuts... Looks like after a 30 second break in the perpetual sipping that the malts have destroyed everything in sight. Man, this sucker really gets you going all over the board. Very tasty brew, reading past reviews guarantees a long cellaring life. Whadda ya know? I did end of slamming this - I think I'll drink another one right without even chilling it. God dammit, this is why I freaking love beer. Cheers."
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
6/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.7)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 355ml @ $2.54 Unit Cost: $3.39 per Pint
[5] Review by drewseslu from Saint Louis, MO, USA who has tried this beer once. (12/15/2006 4:11:30 PM)
"2003 Vintage. Pours a deep ruddy brown with small bit o' foam. Toffee, cocoa and earthy hops dominate the nose. Thick and coating mouthfeel, mild carbonation breaks it up. Still intensely bitter at three years old, the hops have a fresh bigfoot level bitterness to them, plenty of hop flavor and a very rich malt presence. This is one monstrous ale. Some more time may round it out, but for now, it is quite good, but not the best."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
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