Bison Organic Barleywine

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

22oz bomber from 2005. Dark copper color with thin off white head. Medium strength malty and fruity aroma. Taste is sweet with some malt complexity. There’s some dark fruit like cherries or dates along with roasted malts. Near the finish some bitterness wells up and becomes overly grassy during the aftertaste. The finish begins to take on the nasty flavor of cough syrup. Not good. The aroma too. I haven’t had an English Style Barleywine that taste like this. The grassiness and the cough syrup made me pour about half down the drain. Really far from good. Yet anther in a long line of disappointing organic beers.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

not bad, but definitely nothing that stands out as far as barleywines go. too many great big shoes to fill. this one's on the malty side, a tad thin, otherwise pretty good, drinkable brew.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Tasted at the 5th Annual (2008) Triple Rock Firkin Fest. This barleywine pours a slightly hazy brown amber color. Small sized head. Aroma is caramel and sweet. A medium to lighter bodied barley wine. The malts are caramel and toffee. The hops are earthy and herbal. A malty barley wine, if anything it’s a little too malty, not a lot of complexity. Soft carbonation. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Had this beer while tailgating w/ my brother and friends at the Raider v Bears game. Nothing really extraordinary about this beer in either the nose or aroma. The nose is mostly caramel malts, light perfumey/floral hop notes and alcohol. Appearance is clear, dark amber in color with a minimal off-white head. Flavor is very one dimensional with caramel sweetness coming on strong. Nothing horrible at all, and for the price it’s not bad (under $3.00 for 22oz) but don’t expect anything above average.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

I really liked this barleywine a lot, even though it felt a bit thin for the style. The flavor was dead on...some alcohol, heavy roasted malts and an equal dose of hoppy goodness. Not something that would K.O. your tongue, but an enjoyable, big beer. The only real shortcoming here is the thinnish feel to it, but that may be the English barleywine style.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

An excellent barley wine. Really knocked my socks off. Aroma is sweet. Appeance is cloudy brown with a nice thick bubbly head. Mouthfeel is smooth and flavor is rich. You can taste all the grain that is added to it and the alcohol content is strong. I need to eat after having it on an empty stomach. A great brew that I will try again.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

I am intrigued it’s not often you see an English style barleywine outta Cali!. 2005 vintage 22 oz bomber served into a dimpled pint mug. Lovelly looking beer,hazy dark golden /amber brown, hints of orange, small bubbly off white head. The aroma is all malt though its rather on the subdued side for my taste Again the taste is very malty and slightly roasty but gets sweet and rather thin near the end of the mouthful, at which point some hops are tasted and the alcohol is detected, though thankfully it is pleasing. Mouthfeel is pretty nice thoug the alcohol seems to thin it out a tad. This beer at the moment has for me average drinkability..I will certainlly finish the bomber, but not sure if i would buy another. It says on the label this must be cellared for many years..maybe that would help