Iron Hill Barley Wine

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

murret? .. . Pours a dark brown, damn fine head, light lacing .. . rusty, sweet and chewy- complex and fun- mild hoppiness- molasses, brown sugar and bark .. . a fine beverage indeed .. . Boycott shampoo! Demand the REAL poo!

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

Rating from 2007. This barleywine pours a medium brown color forma 750ml bottle. Small to medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is brown sugar, molasses and brown sugar. Medium bodied barley wine. Malts are caramel and sweet. Hops are earthy and floral. Nice carbonation. Good balance. Hides the 10% alcohol fairly well, there is a touch of a bite at the finish. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

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

750ml Bottle; Shared at the first, semi-annual Ratebeer-Tucson tasting!
Pours with a thin, frothy, amber-tinged, tan colored head that sits on top of a clear, rich amber colored beer. The aroma has a dank, cheesy note to it that mixes with an herbal and citrus driven hop character that are ultimately drowned out by the funkiness. A touch of caramel malt character struggles to come through the funk aromatics as well.

Cheesy notes continue in the flavor, though they are a touch more muted than in the aroma there is still a really rustic, challengingly, funky French-farmhouse cheese funkiness here that reminds me of really rank toe-cheese. The herbal and citrus hop notes are more noticeable than they were in the aroma and the flavor is slightly better than the aroma was too. Bitter hop notes mix with light phenolics as they meld together in the finish. This would definitely be a nice beer without the obvious infection. It is still exceedingly hoppy and the chewy malt would have been nice if not drowned out by the cheesy funk.