Deschutes Mirror Mirror Barleywine

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

Pours clear sepia with a thin head. Aroma brings caramel, toasty malt, spice. Flavor generates caramel, toasty malt. Texture provides good body and peppy fizz. Magic mirror in the brewery--

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

2014 Reserve-Pours a hazy reddish brown color. The thick head leaves a decent lacing. The aroma is of wood, caramel and toffee, brown sugar soaked hops, and hints of wine. Flavor has lots off toffee maltiness and hops mixed with some dark/tart fruits in the taste. Wood and vanilla on the finish. Moderately warming, and full bodied. Excellent beer overall, although a kinda hoppy for an english barleywine, but for me thats o.k.

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

Obtained via trade w/ Slowrunner (thanks Chris!) and enjoyed during a summer tasting up in Cleveland. Nothing mind blowing, but all aspects of this barlewyine were fine tuned and wonderful. Great appearance with a glistening dark amber body and frothy head. Sweet malty aroma with hints of citrus fruits, pine and berries. Fantastic feel, soft and mellow. Very flavorful with the malts now coming forward and only some minor hop notes to help keep the balance.

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

I had this last week at the Green Dragon after they had a Meet The Brewer with Deschutes. This was a much better beer than I expected! Lots of dark fruit. Dark brown color with a thick tan head. Raisins and plum with hints of alcohol. Smoother than I expected. Very nice dark fruit flavors with a little hops, and not too sweet. Deschutes' big beers are awesome!

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

Bottle: Poured a deep amber color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of sweet malt with deep caramel malt notes and some hoppy grassy notes as well. Taste is also dominated by loads of sweet malt with a nice caramel touch and some hoppy notes with light citrus notes and a grassy feels. Body is above average with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Very well done though a bit more hoppy then what I usually like in my barley wine.

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

wow, fresh was brutal and 6 months has helped, still needs like 2-3 years more greatness . . sherry and berry hookers .. . muddled yet complex, sharp at times.. . pretty good and pretty rough.. i'll come back by ina year or two .. jollied the fish wife?

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Thank you Slowrunner77 for this beer..

Smells very malty and sweet. with some plum, carmel and burnt sugar. Pours a very nice lively amber with some nice white head. Medium to almost full body with a very nice rounded carbonation the hid the alcohol well, fish was smooth smooth smooth.. Flavor was a nice barlywine but balanced and not over the top like many out there. Lots of carmel, hops, dark fruit, sugar, autumn fruit. This was a very nice brew..

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

Pours a beautiful red color. Aroma is hops and caramel, some alcohol vapor, but not unappealing, slight red fruit like cherry or plum. Medium body in the mouth; full but not overly thick. Delicious in flavor: malt comes forward more as you reach the bottom of the glass, tastes just like the aroma, but a nicer hop balance. Leaves a dark fruit, warmth in your mouth afterward. I had been looking forward to getting this beer since it was announced again for '09 and I am soooo pleased. The first expensive bomber I've bought, and I'm pleased. Deschutes is my underdog great brewery.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Bottle from Hi-Times in Costa Mesa. Thankfully, they had several of these bottles on my latest trip there. It’s easily one of the better barleywines I’ve enjoyed recently, and enjoying it while the Magic take one more away from the Cavs was even better.

The beer pours out a clear dark amber color, beautiful in my Maudite glass, with a smallish 1" creamy off-white head. Stunning aromas of dark fruits, deep caramel/maple like notes, floral, oak and a bit of alcohol. Very strong. Flavor bounces around with notes of caramel dipped apples, vanilla, toasted malts, generous hops, and alcohol. An assertive barleywine that Deschutes nails head on. Outstanding.

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

BIG difference between the pub version and what came out in bottles. they are both good, but the AWESOME aftertaste from the black licorice that's in the tap version is absent in the bottles. that's too bad, because that made a good barleywine into one of the best beers ever. i'll score it somewhere between the two, as i'd give the tap a 4.9, and the bottle a 4.2+. 10/09-had on tap a few more times...no more licorice but sweet jebus is it good. THE smoothest Barleywine ever. Ridiculous complexity. The latest bottle version is maturing into this, but i don't know if it'll quite get there. Great in the bottle, near perfection on tap, with or without the licorice. Damn!!