Beer Goggles Barleywine
Wormtown Brewery

Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Wormtown Brewery
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
10%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.16 | pDev: 6.73%
Reviews:
5
Ratings:
15
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 27, 2014
Added:
Jan 18, 2011
Wants:
  8
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by bros:

  None found.

Photo of TheBeerSipper
Rated by TheBeerSipper from Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Very subtle barleywine flavor. Doesn't taste as alcoholic as it is
Dec 27, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.25 by thegirlgotsoul from Rhode Island

Oct 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by bpk59 from Massachusetts

Sep 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by lupercmda from North Carolina

Sep 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by TripelMark from North Carolina

Feb 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by morebeergood from Massachusetts

Feb 04, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by deleted_user_722966 from New Hampshire

Dec 31, 2013
 
Rated: 4.75 by megamass from New Jersey

May 08, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Yabev15 from Massachusetts

May 19, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Gushue3 from Massachusetts

May 16, 2012
Photo of Chico1985
Reviewed by Chico1985 from Massachusetts

4.28/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
On-tap at Sierra Grille, haven't had a Wormtown beer in a while and this was a pleasant surprise.

Great-looking beer, dark reddish purple with a 2 finger pillow of fluffy off-white head. Excellent retention, good lace.

Sweet dark fruits, caramel, light bourbon and hops in the nose.

Taste definitely improves upon the scent. At the time I didn't know this was bourbon barrel-aged but I suspected it. Lots of flavors here, big dark fruit (dark cherry and raisin), candy caramel malt, molasses, bourbon, maple, slight chocolate/baked goods. Definitely some noticeable earthy hop action going on but this is very malt forward, delicious, nice balance of flavors.

Feels a bit boozy at first but it's integrated well over time. Very smooth, a bit sticky. Has a nice feel to it.

A snifter was definitely enough, it shows it's 10% for sure but lots of great flavors keep you sipping. Reminds me of Central Waters BBW. I'd love to get bottles of this sometime.
Nov 22, 2011
Photo of silentjay
Reviewed by silentjay from Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
pours a beautiful mahogany color with a perfect two-finger sized head that is off-white in color, lasts for a few minutes, and leaves rings on the glass.

lots of dark fruits, leather, and cereal on the nose with vanilla, toffee, caramel, molasses, and some bitter hops.

smooth vanilla and bourbon come on first (Jack Daniels barrel aging) but hops and dark fruits are in behind that, and caramel molasses and toffee sweeten it up a bit.

mouthfeel has been pretty up and down for this brewery, but I think they nailed it on this one. smooth and warming, with just enough carbonation to let the flavors pop.

drinks well. warming booze throughout, but thats expected. smooth flavors are good, but it may lack just a bit in complexity due to that. very impressive!
Mar 03, 2011
Photo of Kkottonmouthkngz
Reviewed by Kkottonmouthkngz from Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: very nice, desireable mahogany, beaitiful rich red hues with a lightly tanned one finger head in my dogfish snifter. an aggressve swirl leaves splotches of fluff all over the sides of the glass.
S: sweet caramel and malt, toffee, vanilla. the depth is pretty nice, as nothing really pulls forward, but it all meshes well together. a decent bit of booziness pokes through as it warms up, and expectedly so at 10%.
T: raisin, toffee, booze, maple, oak. this really comes together the further you get into it. these flavors really went together well with a maple glazed salmon we had for dinner.
M: really quite smooth for the style and just the right amount of carbonation and hop presence. the booziness ends up laying a little heavy after a while, and expectedly so.
D: i know by the end of this growler, ill be hurting a little bit, but overall this brew really is quite delicious and drinkable. i wouldnt rank it at the top of the category, but certainly deserves its credit.
Mar 01, 2011
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

4.28/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Growler from Peppercorns/Wormtown brewery.

Pours a big fluffy white head of almost 2 fingers that fades slowly with some nice lacing, over a clear rosy auburn reddish brown color.

Nose brings some nice malts, plenty of reddish and toasty malts, hint of toffee, a bit of that candy that you get from a candy apple, a bit of booze, and some mild American earthy and slightly floral hops. A bit of dark fruits.

Taste comes on bold, right out front with a nice bourbon flavor, some light oak and vanilla with that, a creamy malt character, lots of toasty reddish malts, fairly sweet but not overly, with hints of that candy from candy apple again, perhaps a hint of candi sugar even, no heavy malts, just lots of them. Some light American earthy floral hops come through again, but not heavy, just enough. A bit of warming and slightly tingly booze, but typical for 10%. Fairly smooth overall profile. It finishes a little sticky and still a bit sweet, but dries just slightly. It gets fairly bitter as well on the tail end of the finish, bringing a bit more of the earthy hops, and lingering sweet candy tastes.

Mouth is pretty rich and fairly heavy bodied, with decent carbonation for the style, as well as some warming and tingly booze.

Drink is decent, the booze is typical for 10%, but not overly, and the sweetness balances that fairly well, a bit of a bitter finish adds a nice touch, but the sweetness and stickiness on the finish doesn't help. Overall pretty good for a 10% American barleywine.
Feb 06, 2011
Photo of rudzud
Reviewed by rudzud from Massachusetts

4.58/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Wormtown's brewing of an American Barleywine keeps in line with its other delicious brews. This 10% barleywine was aged for 3 months. Half of the batch was aged in stainless steel barrels, the other half was aged in white oak Jack Daniels barrels. After the 3 months the two were blended during the carbonation process resulting in what they have on tap.

A - Poured into a snifter. Beautiful almost crystal clear copper pour. Atop was a half finger white head that faded to leave nice spiderweb lacing as well as a halo and minimal side lacing. Slight bubbles rising up through the barleywine.

S - Complex malt and hop aroma come through. Nice very floral hopes along with a touch of vanilla and oak along with some light fruit aroma, possibly raisin or fig.

T - Delicious complex malts start things off. Tell tale barleywine sweetness from these malts fade to become more powerfully tasting floral hops. No citrus notes but beautiful floral lightly fruity, lightly bitter hops. Intermixed throughout is this delicious earthy oak taste that one can only get from aging. Very soft vanilla flavours is laced throughout the brew. The 10% is detectable at the end but does not deter from the overall flavour profile. There is a great floral hop and oak aftertaste that clings to the palette. Can only imagine what this all would become with some cellaring.

M - Surprisingly good carbonation, I was expecting something heavy and almost syrupy and this is not that. At 10% it remains crisp and somehow refreshing! By far the most crisp and refreshing barleywine I've had.

D - Dangerously drinkable for being a 10% brew. Very complex flavours and aromas make this oh so good. That mouthfeel really keeps this strong beer nice and light in the mouth. For me, this was smoother and far more complex than say Dogfish Head's Olde School. Would LOVE to try and cellar a bottle or two of this if they were to bottle this barleywine.
Jan 18, 2011
Beer Goggles Barleywine from Wormtown Brewery
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 15 ratings