Bridgeport Old Knucklehead

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

Bomber from Pt Roberts (WA) Marketplace. Mahogany pour with a thin beige head, and it did leave a ring. Aroma was caramel and boozy, not in a bad way. Lots of alcohol in the flavour, although no burn. Malty flavour, maybe some dark fruit (raisins). Solid mouthfeel. Subdued sweetness to finish. One of the better offerings from this brewery.

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

Pours deep mahogany with a two-finger tan head. Rich and creamy on the lips disintegrating to a watery feel to the pallette. Malty sweetness with just the right amount of hops for a great flavor. Alcohol tones very present throughout.

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

bottling # 12 .. ... quite upfront but smooth .. . abit thin in the mouth .. .taste is nicebut seems all over the place .. low bitterness .. "i've been calling her krandell" .. . really seems alcoholic, . what would age do to this pup .. . seems to bypass the throat and pipes and goes right to the stomach! .. . . 'skinny, crabby, catch ya later' ...

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

At 9%, this brew delivered a nice buzz. Pours a dark, reddish brwon colour with a decent sized tan head. Creamy roasted malts, sweet all the way through which finishes rich with hops.

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

So I bombed an exam and needed a beer. I picked up one that called me by what I felt like: Old Nucklehead. The high alcohol content should help calm my nerves and allow me to sleep so I can start cramming for tomorrow's final. Oh yeah, about the beer... Cool bottle with a nice story. 2003 bottling on this one. "...[D]ouble the amount of malts and hops." Pours flawlessly and a beautiful head that leaves a very nice lace. Smells great. If you didn't read the label, this is when you realize this ain't no 3.2 beer. Spicy malt makes its way through the alcohol scent. The taste is great, but man can you taste the alcohol. It's almost like someone spiked it with a nice vodka. Bigfoot by Sierra Nevada does a much better job masking this content. This, IMO, is the only thing holding me back from giving it a *much* higher rating. The only reason it didn't get a higher rating in drinkability is, well, by now you know. If you don't mind the taste of alcohol, you will absolutely love this barleywine. I think I'm going to pick up a few bottles and cellar it for a while to see if I can get it to mellow a bit. Otherwise, this is world-class.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

I was fortunate enough to visit the beer Mecca that is the city of Portland, Oregon. Portland is probably the most beer friendly city in America, it is drenched in beer, microbreweries and brewpubs seem to be on every corner. One brewery that makes Portland so special is the Bridgeport Brewery. One of the dozen or so brewpubs and breweries I visited was the Bridgeport Ale House. I was very impressed to say the least. One very special beer on draught that night that I enjoyed was their barleywine, called Old Knucklehead. This beer on draught was stunning. I snapped up as many bottles of this beer that I could carry back with me. The bottle sample I am reviewing here is the 1997 vintage, so it has a few years of age on it. Normally that wouldn't be a good thing, but barleywine is one of the few beer styles that will improve with age. These are rich, strong, flavorful, warming ales that have an alcohol content that approaches the strength of wine, hence the name. Old Knucklehead pours to a beautiful, bright, mahogany color with a slight tan head, and virtually no carbonation, it is almost a still liquid. The nose on this beer is fantastic. Sweet malt aromas of fresh bread, toffee, and butter scotch marry with some piney hop aromas, and waves of peppery alcohol. The palate is rich, complex, and warming. Big sweet malt flavors of fresh bread, butter scotch, toffee, and vanilla coat the tongue. The body is very viscous, slick and syrupy. This beer finishes with more big sweet malt up front then dries out with a slight bitter hop bite, and a long, warming, high octane burn. Barleywines are potent brews, they weigh in at about 9%-11% abv, and will take the chill out of the coldest of bones. This beer is the perfect night cap. A great beer to sip on a cool evening while reading a book next to a snug fire. I wouldn't match this beer with food, but if you choose to, do so with desert. This beer would go great with butter scotch pudding, custard, or even cheese cake.

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

Strong, pungent aromas and flavors of alcohol and overripe fruits, like sweet and sour caramel and fig. Nice rich color matches the syrup-like texture. I agree with the others that this might mellow over time, but I didn't love it enough to cache it. Certainly appreciate the high ABV in a cheap-ish beer in cold, cold, MT.

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

Dark amber color, medium head. Richly malted and intensely hoppy, Well aged and barley wine style ale. This is the 1999 version, tasted in May 2001; aging has not harmed this beer. Complex subtle flavors, mix of malt and hops nearly resinous in taste. Aging has done some interesting things with the malt sugars in this beer; there are many layers of taste and interaction. Mouthfeel is full and round. Very smooth. Finish is crisp. Aftertaste is hoppy and malty, a little bitter. No noticeable alcohol bite, despite the 9.1% alcohol. Very nice beer.

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

This beer poured a deep reddish brown with a medium head that left some notable lacing. The aroma was sweet and fruity with hints of malt and hop. The mouthfeel was smooth and tingly. The flavor was of honey/malt with a hint of hops. At 9.1% ABV the alcohol was noted throughout. The smooth finish brought all the flavors together.

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

12 oz brown bottle " No 011" Fred Eckhardt on the label 2003 edition. Lovelly malty aroma mixed with a rather resinous alcohol scent.Prunes and figs come to mind for some reason. Dark amber, almost chesut in apprearance, small white head that dissapears fast..leaving small amount of lace. Taste is chocolate, creamy toffee,rum like, bitter near the end, alcohol is pronounced. Nice on the tongue quite warming going down. I liked this ale..one dimensional maybe but its a bloody good dimension!!