San Diego Old 395 Barleywine

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

I'm a rather typical San Diego resident -- in that I'm a transplant from somewhere else. That having been said, I can only asume that the "old 395" is an old and probably obsolete highway somewhere in San Diego county. Either way, this beer's namesake may be obscure, but the beer itself is anything but. Rather, it's perhaps a little too sharp and focused, IMO.

Pulled from the hand-pump into a 12-oz goblet (rarely seen for San Diego Brewing Company's house beers), this looked a little dull, to be honest. But the nose coming off of this beer more than made up for such transgressions -- big and sligtly fruity, with alcohol making itself known.

Much of the same thing can be said for the flavor profile of this beer too. That is to say, big and chewy, with palatable threads of hotness from the alcohol oscillating in the mouth. Very "sharp" and very "hot" -- signs that this could be a great beer, if given some time to age properly. Balance would also improve too.

Overall, this was drinkable enough for me, but I can see many other folks -- folks who may not be as tolerant of balls-to-the-wall alcohol -- not being very amused with this.

A "ok-to-good" Barleywine, that could be a "very-good-to-great" Barleywine, with some time. Otherwise, too young and hot for day-to-day consumption.
//TB