Mine Is Bigger Than Yours - Muscatel Barrel Aged
To Øl

Mine Is Bigger Than Yours - Muscatel Barrel AgedMine Is Bigger Than Yours - Muscatel Barrel Aged
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From:
To Øl
 
Denmark
Style:
English Barleywine
ABV:
12.5%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.96 | pDev: 10.86%
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
26
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 01, 2020
Added:
Apr 24, 2013
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  5
No description / notes.
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Rated: 4.5 by bigred89 from Maryland

Feb 01, 2020
 
Rated: 3.79 by Docrock from Illinois

Mar 23, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by RochefortChris from North Carolina

Mar 14, 2016
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

3.59/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle purchased at Premiere Gourmet in Amherst, NY.

This one pours a dark, slightly murky brown, with a very small head and no lacing.

Smells like red wine, caramel, tannins, and some cardboardy aromas. I am worried about oxidation being an issue here.

This is not the best BA Barleywine I've ever had, it just didn't quite work. The base barleywine just doesn't seem beefy or expressive enough to stand on it's own without the barrel, and the barrel aging doesn't particularly help it either. There's some red wine, tannis and dark fruit, but no oak, with a fleeting glimpse of piney hops, and some oxidation characteristics, specifically cardboard flavors. Meh.

This is medium bodied, a little bit syrupy sweet, with a lower level of carbonation.

Not bad, not great, just kind of unremarkable, and not up to the usual standard from this brewery.
Nov 01, 2015
Photo of kevanb
Reviewed by kevanb from Illinois

3.8/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 3.5
375ml bottle poured into a To Øl teku glass. Enjoyed on 4.23.2015, reviewed from Tasting Journal.

The beer pours a nice dark amber color, very opaque with a cloudy layer of sediment hanging near the bottom of the glass, thick, bone colored head, about 2 fingers high rises from the beer with very nice retention yielding spotted lace. The aroma is of white wine, strong dark malts, the usual cacophony of ambers, viennas and caramels, stone fruits, leather, oak, tobacco with some light sherry from oxidation. The flavors are interesting, aged hops, mellow malts, lightly bitter, a bit of citrus peel, chewy bread hangs around well, oak, light acidity from the white wine with tobacco and leather hiding in the backdrop. The hop forward base definitely still has a presence, but the overall aging is king, very mellow and balanced flavors, well layered and melded. The mouthfeel is wonderful, super smooth, coating, gentle, low carbonation that has just a mild prickliness and an effortless finish, a touch of warmth as it goes down.

Verdict: A nice beer from To Øl, a very unique barrel treatment to a hoppy barleywine. Light oxidation is beginning to creep in but there is a nice array of flavors ranging from earthy and bitter to acidic and bright to sweet and sticky. Not a beer that I'd rush to revisit, but a beer that definitely challenged my palate and really made me think.
Jun 03, 2015
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Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.05/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
I love how intense the beers are from these guys, and this one fits right in the portfolio. Very bright brown body, clean pour. Smell stars the boozy muscat, wood, caramel, peach and barley. Taste has piney hops, sugary caramel malt and candi sugar, boozy barrel and fruit, with vanilla, barley and flowers holding it all together. Normally a beer being all over the place I would shoot down, but this one while chaotic is designed to be so, and together strangely works for me. In the feel it is a little harder to look beyond though, missing some of that dryer classic british barleywine feel and lacks depth
Apr 17, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Westyn from Texas

Apr 01, 2015
 
Rated: 3.98 by wethorseblanket from California

Feb 27, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by olradetbalder from Sweden

Nov 20, 2014
 
Rated: 4.28 by Monthz

Nov 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by craftbeerasian from Florida

Aug 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Anvilfarm from Missouri

Jun 07, 2014
Photo of LiquidAmber
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington

4.03/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a red-orange amber with a nice one finger light brown head with great retention and tons of lacing, surprisingly nice for a barrel aged barleywine. Aroma of caramel malt, fortified wine, light stone fruit, smellse like a classic English barleywine. Flavor initially follows with caramel malt and light and dark stone fruit, developing a mild, but interesting vinous note, to finish with fruit, slight oxidation and sherry, slightly boozy. Great medium to full bodied with pleasant carbonation, once more a bonus for a barrel aged barleywine. A nice take on this style. The ale took on a distinct, but but not intrusive vinous, sherry-like note that fit well with the otherwise good barleywine flavors. I liked this quite a bit and would get it again if it wasn't such a hit to the wallet. Nice change and variation on the style.
Jun 03, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by deNerval from California

Apr 10, 2014
Photo of Jeffo
Reviewed by Jeffo from Netherlands

4.35/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Got this at the De Molen beer shop in Bodegraven.

From a 37,5cl bottle into a snifter
Best before 20 November 2022

APPEARANCE: Pours a two finger, medium looking, fluffy, off-white head with great retention. Clear mahogany or rust in color with medium levels of carbonation. Head slowly fades to a full wisp and coats the glass on the way down. A splotchy wisp remains leaving some decent lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Definite white wine, oak and grapes on the nose. Caramel and a light citrus note in the back. Lemon and grapefruit perhaps. Bold, interesting and enticing.

TASTE: Toffee, oak, vanilla and wood up front. White wine at the swallow with a bolder and lingering finish of white wine, oak, wood, caramel sweetness and some citrus notes. Very, very good.

PALATE: Fuller body and medium levels of carbonation. Creamy on the palate, nice weight, goes down fine and finishes slightly mouth-coating. Some heat lingers. Velvety smooth and some good weight, but a bit of a burn keeps it from perfection.

OVERALL: Excellent. Really nice. Would have loved to try the base beer, but this barrel variant is superb. Another very impressive beer from To Ol. Slowly becoming a huge fan of these guys. Highly, highly recommended.
Jan 12, 2014
Photo of Phyl21ca
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

3.86/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Bottle: Poured a light clear amber color ale with a rather large foamy head with OK retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of sweet toffee notes with caramelized malt with light sweet vinous notes. Taste is also dominated by sweet toffee notes with some caramelized malt with a sweet white wine finish. The whole mix is sweet without being overly so that it falls into gross territory. Body is about average with good carbonation with no apparent alcohol. Not as complex as I was anticipating with nice used of barrel-aging treatment.
Dec 07, 2013
Photo of jdhilt
Reviewed by jdhilt from New Hampshire

4.08/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours a two finger cream head that fades very slowly leaving a good lace. Almost clear brown color. Good carbonation and medium-heavy bodied. Burnt sugar and some dark fruit nose and flavor is same burnt sugar, with caramel and dark fruit. High ABV is hidden. Seriously expensive at $12.99 for a 375ml bottle from Julio's Liquors Marlboro, MA.
Oct 19, 2013
 
Rated: 2.75 by MontereyBay831 from California

Oct 13, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by DooshBagalow from Illinois

Jul 21, 2013
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Reviewed by mfnmbvp from Illinois

3.83/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
12.7 fl oz bottle, with no apparent bottled on date present. The local beer store managed to get a few of these, and they've been sitting on the shelf ever since, so I figured it was time to try it out. My first beer from To Øl, and also my first encounter with an English style barleywine.

Poured into a Firestone Walker pint glass.

A - Pours a dark blood orange / ruby colored body with one finger of creamy doughy tan head hanging out on top. Some bubbles rushing topside, and lots of fine sediment twirling around the glass.

S - Smell is actually quite subdued and tame. Bit of faded hoppiness, some sweetness, burnt brown sugar, bit of funky yeast / brett maybe. Not a bad smell, just not very intense.

T - Taste is of dark candied figs, plums, raisins, & what I imagine is probably the muscat grapes. Some sweet burnt brown sugar, caramel malt, bitter hops, and a bit of alcohol heat on the finish. No funky yeast or brett is noticeable in the taste, and no noticeable effect from the barrel aging.

M - Feel is sticky & sugary. Leaves the palate feeling dry.

Overall, a nice beer, although not nearly as amazing as it should have been considering I paid $17 for this tiny bottle. I can't say how it compares to the original version, but it doesn't seem the barrel aging accomplished much, although I could be wrong. I'll just have to wait until I discover a regular version to see. A nice sipping beer, with a rewarding, well-hidden big 12.50% abv. I guess if you have money to spare, give it a shot.

To Øl Mine Is Bigger Than Yours (Muscatel Barrel Aged) ---4/5.
Jul 13, 2013
Mine Is Bigger Than Yours - Muscatel Barrel Aged from To Øl
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 26 ratings