Arquebus 2017
Cambridge Brewing Company

Arquebus 2017Arquebus 2017
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From:
Cambridge Brewing Company
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
English Barleywine
ABV:
12%
Score:
93
Avg:
4.19 | pDev: 9.07%
Reviews:
48
Ratings:
138
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 09, 2022
Added:
Jul 14, 2006
Wants:
  37
Gots:
  12
Described by CBC as a Summer Barleywine. "Arquebus" refers to a heavy portable matchlock gun invented during the 15th century, and forerunner of the rifle.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by FunkyMacGroovin:
Photo of FunkyMacGroovin
Reviewed by FunkyMacGroovin from California

4.72/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
Served in an 8oz (I think) snifter-style glass. 2010 batch is 14% abv. Pours a delightful golden hue. The beer is served still to accentuate its similarities with wine, so there is no head. Smell is redolent of a winery in the Napa Valley - oak, vanilla, wildflowers, and a bit of acid on the nose. Absolutely enchanting.

The description of the beer says they used white wine grapes in the brew, used malolactic fermentation, and then aged the beer in Chardonnay barrels. These characteristics are immediately and beautifully apparent when you take a sip. Tons of buttery diacetyl flavor combined with the oak and the grapes made me seriously question whether I had been served a wine passed off as beer. It actually reminded me of an over-oaked Chardonnay, which would be a negative characteristic of wine, but is executed so well in this beer I couldn't help but love it. Honey and fruit flavors are also present and further complement the winey-ness (not to be confused with whiney-ness). Acidity is here too, imparted by the grapes - a good thing too, else the finish would almost certainly become cloying. Amid all these flavors and more there is a tinge of detectable hoppiness, just enough to remind you that this is, in fact, beer. Mouthfeel is medium in body, dry on the finish, and even a little effervescent despite the lack of carbonation.

I'm not sure how the abv is hidden so well, but if I hadn't known it was 14% ahead of time I could've easily mistaken it for a 7-10% brew. Incredibly drinkable - I could drink myself into a pants-wetting, bush-puking, cougar-seducing humdinger of a stupor without thinking twice (or stopping to notice that my pants are gone and there's a Sharpie-mustache on my face).

If you told someone who had never heard the term before that this was a barleywine and served it to them, they'd think you were crazy when you told them it was beer. Someone should probably think of a new style to classify this beer, because the moniker 'summer barleywine' doesn't do anything to prepare you for what it is. An entirely wonderful beverage in every way.
Aug 23, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.1 by Taenim from Maine

Feb 09, 2022
 
Rated: 4.52 by unclekeith from Alaska

Dec 07, 2020
 
Rated: 4.24 by ummswimmin from New Jersey

Aug 26, 2019
Photo of Theyrcoming
Reviewed by Theyrcoming from Ohio

3.99/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Carb was low, the viscosity might be inhibiting the carb. Syrupy, light Amber color. Typical barleywine notes mixed with honey and wine characteristics.
Mar 30, 2019
 
Rated: 4.36 by BillBabbitt from Ohio

Feb 03, 2019
Photo of GoneARye
Reviewed by GoneARye from Washington

4.18/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Lively bottle, I tapped the cork after uncaging and it literally shot out and hit my ceiling.
Pours a golden amber with champagne bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. Smell is huge on grapes and honey, smells sweet and inviting, like a jar of jam. Taste is sweet, starting with a floral honey and morphing into a sweeter malty grape. Just wish I got a stronger malt base here - this feels more honey and grape forward. Mouthfeel is surpsingly light. For the bubbles and the cork I was expecting lots of spritzy carbonation. overall this was complex and I'm glad I tried it
Would love be to see it with 2 years of age.
Jul 10, 2018
Photo of maximum12
Reviewed by maximum12 from Minnesota

4/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to quirk6 for this 375ML corked & caged bottle, consumed after another fun but tiring fishing opener here in the land of 10,000 lakes. Some even have fish in them.

The pour is light orange with the weirdest head – it’s a peninsula of white foam reaching off the side of the glass like an accusing finger. The nose is sweet. Lovely honey, candied sweetness that almost leans Belgian, white grapes. Nice.

Arquebus is more dessert wine than beer. There’s an almost mead-like kick up front, with a ton of sweet, gentle honey. The honey mingles easily with a malt base (is there such a thing as white malts?) that tastes…light. Grapes and/or white wine next, oaky tannins, green apples, floral breezes. Smooth, sweet (did I say that?), rich, & dangerous. I can’t taste the alcohol, but it’s making me want to dance. Unless there are 1,000 other people around, we don’t want that.

I’m not crazy about putting perfectly good beer in wine barrels, but this seems like a natural marriage, rather than the standard stupid idea. I do wish the base beer was more visible, but this is a very good brew.
May 13, 2018
 
Rated: 4.24 by Ristaccia from Nebraska

Apr 07, 2018
Photo of superspak
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina

4.3/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
375 ml bottle into snifter; 2017 vintage bottling. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy golden amber/light orange color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big golden raisin, peach, plum, pear, apricot, fig, date, red apple, white grape, white wine, toasted oak, honey, caramel, and biscuit; with lighter notes of toffee, oaken vanilla, brown sugar, leather, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity yeast, grapes, honey, wine barrels, and bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big golden raisin, peach, plum, pear, apricot, fig, date, red apple, white grape, white wine, toasted oak, honey, caramel, and biscuit; with lighter notes of toffee, oaken vanilla, brown sugar, leather, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light herbal/grassy bitterness, wine/oak tannin spiciness, and grape tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of golden raisin, peach, plum, pear, apricot, fig, date, red apple, white grape, white wine, toasted oak, honey, caramel, biscuit, toffee, vanilla, brown sugar, leather, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity yeast, grapes, honey, wine barrels, and bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness, fruit tartness, and wine tannin spiciness balance; with zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness, grape tang/tartness, and wine/oak tannin spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky, and lightly slick/sticky/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Mildly increasing warmth of 12%, with zero barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an incredible English barelywine! All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity yeast, grapes, honey, wine barrels, and bready malt flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/tart/tangy finish. More of a Blonde barleywine, but this just nails it all around. Very rich with perfectly balanced malts, honey, fruity yeast, and wine barrel complexity. A highly enjoyable offering.
Feb 24, 2018
Photo of puboflyons
Reviewed by puboflyons from New Hampshire

3.04/5  rDev -27.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
From the corked, caged 12.7 fl. oz. bottle. Sampled on February 2, 2018.

It pours a slightly hazy orange-amber tone with a quick lasting fizzy white head. Little to no lacing.

The aroma reeks of grapes and wine rather than sweet, roasted barley mash like the barleywines I've come to love. For 12% there is no alcohol character of note.

Light to medium body and reasonably smooth. I like my barleywines to be heavier.

The taste has way too many grapes and wine characters instead of the sweet malty character of a typical barleywine. I suppose that was the point and maybe I should have given it a higher mark. But to me barleywines have a certain unique character and this messes with it too much for my liking. It may appeal to wine drinkers looking to try their first craft beer.
Feb 02, 2018
 
Rated: 3.66 by rab53 from Washington

Jan 29, 2018
 
Rated: 3.73 by TheStoutHound from Wisconsin

Nov 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by fosters9 from New York

Oct 11, 2017
 
Rated: 4.46 by Prost76 from New Hampshire

Aug 24, 2017
Photo of darktronica
Reviewed by darktronica from Indiana

4.55/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Definitely a unique take on a barleywine, it truly is a lovely dessert for a crisp spring night. The honey, grape must and barley, commingled and aged in white wine barrels has my palate so confused. Is this a wine, a mead, or a beer? I had high expectations going in, and this has exceeded them. I've never had a barleywine with this flavor profile, and I suspect I won't encounter another. The ale itself emerges infrequently from the intensity of the other flavors, only occasionally giving a burst of floral hops that complement the honey, or a wisp of biscuity malt.

I love a good sauternes and interesting beverage experiments, like the growing number of brewers distributing beer/wine hybrids of various degrees. I feel like this is pushing the boundaries of the art... a great addition to Cambridge Brewing Company's long tradition.
May 13, 2017
Photo of spacecake9
Reviewed by spacecake9 from Illinois

4.1/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A - Pours an opaque orange with a small white head.
S- Aroma is mild but wine-like.
T- Honey and wine barrel dominate the flavor.
M- Above average carbonation, light body.
O - Very good, unique, certainly not your typical barleywine. I would buy again.
Mar 15, 2017
 
Rated: 4.1 by CraftFan5 from New Jersey

Feb 09, 2017
Photo of Brutaltruth
Reviewed by Brutaltruth from Ohio

4.35/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Never had a "summer" barley wine....for that I am game!

This extraordinary ale pours a lightly hazy, glowing, golden pale amber with a
nice head of white foam that subsides to thick ring, thin sudsy pool, and features
some excellent lacing, Nose of strong booze, heavy caramel malts, floral notes
from hops, buttered honey biscuits, and light yeast notes. Flavors exceed the nose
with yellow raisin drenched in honey, herbal hop notes on the middle and rear, yeasty
breaded notes on the middle, and strong booze with grain notes that encompass the
profile without cloying. Fantastic mouth feel; medium body, smooth as silk, warm
as a fireplace in winter, medium carbonation, and a lightly dry warming finish.

Overall a fantastic little brew.

Cheers
Feb 03, 2017
 
Rated: 4.24 by MonkeyBread from Nevada

Jan 01, 2017
Arquebus 2017 from Cambridge Brewing Company
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 138 ratings