Butte Creek Train Wreck

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

Pours frothy bubbly head, which doesn’t last too long. Cross between amber and yellow in color. Kind of hazy. Malty nose with tones of alcohol. VERY pronounced alcohol in flavor, with a hoppy aftertaste. Body is average, not overly thick like some barleywines can be. Hopes are there, but not crazy like in a Bigfoot. Heavy alcohol in the aftertaste and on the palate.

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

Bomber pours clear copper with tan head and decent lacing initially. The aroma brings up big dark fruity esters of plums, prunes, raisins, pepper and hard candy cherries. There’s also an alcohol note. The taste starts with a mixture of sweet malts, pale malts and a burst of dark fruitiness. Then it becomes increasingly fruity with prunes, sweet cherries, raisins, then a slight medicinal cherry cough syrup note along with mild pepper. It ends with lingering dark fruit notes, a hint of caramel malt sweetness and a bit of alcohol. Considering the age and the ABV the alcohol isn’t out of line. This can certainly use a couple of years on the shelf though.

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

Keg of 2007 on tap at Baileys in Portland. Mostly caramel and some buttering hops and alcohol on the back end. A bit past its prime but still nice...juuuuust a bit stale. Great body though.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

It’s been about 15 months since I purchased the bottle. I don’t know if it’s significantly worse fresh, but this is a big, rich barleywine at this point and it’s quite nice. The beer is a pretty standard red-tinged amber with a small head fading to a bit of lacing. The aroma is particularly good - vanilla, caramel malt, a touch of lingering citric hops, cognac around the edges and an almost koelsch-like vinous quality. The grape aroma is all sweet, little champagne grapes and adds a lot. The flavor has that silky, smooth sweetness of residual sugars that have slowly oxidized. The mouthfeel could be a touch creamier but it’s still good. It’s really quite nice at this point. I almost want to try a fresh bottle to understand some of the lower scores. I’m not sure why this beer would rate lower than Old Guardian or Green Flash’s barleywine.

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

An amber colored train pired into my glass. A thin-tannish-white head sits atop. Head settles quickly but can be reconstituted with a little swirling of the glass. A complex misture of sweet caramel, citrus hops and alcohol rise to the nose. The taste is all about hops, citrusy and a kick of alcohol but not offensive. The texture is medium and smooth, making for a drinkable ale.

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

Pours an appetizing clear brownish copper with a thick, frothy head that sticks around for a bit. Aroma is strong and malty with a brandy-ish fruit overtone. Flavor has an undertone of molasses, as well as smoky and nutty hints - and the typical strong alcohol bite of a barleywine. Texture is fairly edgy, and it leaves a rather bitter, hoppy aftertaste.

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

This was a really sticky barleywine. I have read in other reviews of barleywines of a fig character, but this is the first time I ever experienced it. I keep tasting the figs long after the beer goes down. There is a strong and sweet malt backing with a nice hop strength as well. This is pretty well balanced as a result. Between the high drinkability and the high alcohol, I was definitely worried about becoming a trainwreck myself; what the hell, it's my birthday.

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

I recently picked this brew up at a local packy and I decided to drink it to day to celebrate "popping the cap" on South Carolina's alcohol by weight and volume restrictions. Aroma first is a bit boozy with hints of brown sugar and molasses and is almost cloyingly sweet and showcases ripened fruits and some dark figs. Appearance is a muddled amber red with a frothy and foamy head on top that is full and rocky and a light-tan in color and well-carbonated. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with malty and caramelly balance as well as complexity with a palate that is chewy and a bit sticky and very hardy. Flavor is of caramel malt, ripe fruits, and sweetness with an aftertaste that is citrusy and bitter with maybe some pine and mango as well as grapefruit with a finish that is dry-like and rather smooth with some dry hoppy bite. Overall, what a full flavored ale we have here that has a huge malty backbone upfront that fades into a hop assault on the back-end; one of the better products from Butte Creek in my opinion and this one would even be better aged for a time for sure.

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

This Barleywine pours a deep copper color from a 22oz bottle. Large sized white foamy head. Aroma is caramel, fruity and sweet. A medium bodied barleywine. Malts are caramel and sweet, touch of biscuit and fruit. Hops are grapefruity and piney. The taste is sort of like the name, it is sort of a train wreak at the moment. Big brash malts and big ass hops collide in a flavor explosion with your palate stuck in the middle. That said, it is a well balanced beer and has both a good malt backbone and a good hop profile. This beer would really benefit from a year or so in he bottle. There is a very definite alcohol flavor as well. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter with a touch of alcohol bite.

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

I think barleywines are typically sickley sweet. This organic bombshell, on the other hand, is not. It is actually very guzzle worthy and induces a bright glow with masterful rapidity. I'm sure my nose will attest to this.