Sweetwater Donkey Punch

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

On a recent trip to Atlanta, I was given a couple of bottle of this, and I have to admit, the name put a bad taste in my mouth. I cracked open a cold one and out came this clear orange-red nectar which was topped off by a white head. The aroma was caramel malt and hoppy citrus hints, and maybe a little honey. The flavour was sweet, malty, and had a very bitter finish. Much better than I was expecting.

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

don't mess with that Antigua weed, its wicked!! .. . pours a a gold copper .. med foam .. . lots of golden syrup and non alcoholic rum ... clean and slick .. . good but abit mean, grrr ... . danktank DP: BW version

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

Poured was amber color with good head and lacing throughout the beer. Aroma was piney and citrus hops. Flavor was amazing balanced with nice citrus and pine hops with nice caramel malt backbone. Wasn't over sticky either solid one here.

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

This barley wine pours a medium orange gold color from a 1 liter bottle. Medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is caramel, fruity and sweet. A medium to lighter bodied barleywine. The malts are fruity and very sweet. The hops are earthy. Nice balance. Good carbonation. Kind of sweet and malty, with a bunch of hops. Its kind of the in that 2xIPA and Barley wine mix, its not really either one. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is sweet.

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

NorCal December '07 - This is one HUGE freakin' bottle. I mean, for a standard size, it's huge. That was really the only thing that was big about this whole beer though. A very floral hop nose, with a good dose of juicy fruity instead of bitter citrusy hops, and a nice caramel malt base. Color was medium amber/orange in color with a minimal foamy cap. Mouthfeel was full and round. Flavor had many qualities of an old DIPA, sweet, hoppy but dulled to the point where it almost hides behind the malt. A nice beer, and I have another bottle of it and hopefully it will get a higher score. I do enjoy Sweetwater beers.

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

1L bottle from aracauna. The pour was a beautiful amber-orange color, pretty clear, nice frothy huge head, incredible lacing, about as good an appearance as you can get from the style. The aroma was piney floral hops, light citrus, some caramel notes underneath it all. The flavor was full brown sugarey-light tea bags (in a good way), caramel, full resinous piney hops. Mouthfeel was full, yet not sticky. A nice concoction, worthy of being placed among the best of the Left Coast! Thanks, Jacob!

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

Beautiful brown color with really impressive head, especially for abv and beautiful lacing, really nice. Aroma of caramel malt. Flavor was predominantly caramel malt with a faint teabag flavor to go with heavy floral and piney hops and also mild citrus. Near perfect balance of sweet and bitter. Big thanks to eaglefan538 for sharing.

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

It pours a translucent honey-brown with a nice head. Aroma is strong, quite hoppy, with an overtone of pine. Flavor is very hoppy but not overly bitter; there is a strong evergreen element and an undertone of hard apple cider. Thick, smooth, this is a beer for sipping rather than gulping. You have to pay attention to it! Another must for hop nuts.

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

This really is more of an IIPA than a barleywine. Sure, there is more heft to the malt, it closing in on the chewy descriptor, and there’s the hefty ABV, but this covers the alcohol almost entirely and it’s still a hop forward beer. The hops are bright and fresh, the bitterness is balanced with the richness of the malt, but there’s still plenty of hop flavor. This is a really tasty big beer. Not too over the top, the alcohol excellently camoflaged, and an interesting malt backbone. My only qualms are with the name (Sweetwater, you make great beer. Please stop with the dumbass names!) and it being bottled in liter bottles. Seriously, I think even most beer geeks would prefer the 12 oz bottles. Not only is it more cost effective apparently (bottles of 20 oz and more always seem to cost much more per ounce than the same beer in 12 oz bottles) but it’s a pain to have to drink the entire beer in one sitting. It’s not a pain from wanting to drink that much; it’s tasty, but you’re going to have to make sure you’re not going to be doing anything after you finish the bottle. Sure you can close the swing top and put it back in the fridge, but unlike wine, beer goes flat. I did get a second bottle of this to age and I’ll post an update after a year or two to see how it ages.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

This is the newest product from Sweetwater and I just had it on draft today minutes after the keg was tapped. Aroma on this monster is very bitter and acidic with tons of grapefruit coming through as well as bitter hop flowers with hints of sweetness, some malt, and even some alcohol is evident. Appearance is a darker, rich copper-red in color when held to the light with a full-sized head on top that is light-tan in color and dissipates slowly leaving thick lacing behind. Mouthfeel is a bit thin for the style but is medium-bodied and pretty well-rounded with complex hoppiness and some malty balance but not enough with a palate that is almost dry-like. Flavor is bitter hops, sweet maltiness, some darker fruits and grapefruit with an aftertaste that is thinner than expected with some tropical nuances as well with a finish that is clean, pretty smooth, extremely bitter and offers some decent fullness. Overall, stylistically speaking, this isn't exactly on point and is more like an Imperial-IPA because it lacks chewy maltiness and depth in character and the palate could be fuller and could have less assertive hopping rates. Finally, yet another winner from Sweetwater and a good barleywine/IIPA (IMO) and is well worth seeking out and buying a draft of it, or a bottle to cellar-age; recommended.