The Perfect Nose
Westbrook Brewing Co.

The Perfect NoseThe Perfect Nose
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From:
Westbrook Brewing Co.
 
South Carolina, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
10.2%
Score:
89
Avg:
3.96 | pDev: 11.87%
Reviews:
28
Ratings:
100
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 29, 2021
Added:
Nov 09, 2015
Wants:
  15
Gots:
  25
Collaboration with Evil Twin Brewing

Barleywine aged in Cognac barrels

His nose is straight with a cute, rounded tip and is perfectly in proportion to his face...This gives him an attractive and striking profile. Plus, he always looks happy and confident in photos., which is especially appealing to most women. Some might even say - "Hey Jeppe - if I ever get a nose job is it okay if I get a replica of your perfect nose"
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of beergoot
Reviewed by beergoot from Colorado

3.85/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Dull, semi-cloudy dark brown body; fizzy head that dissipates quickly, leaving a thin, wispy head; the head then develops more as the beer sits, leaving a fine yet thin sheet of foam floating atop the beer. Faint cocoa with raisins and figs on the nose; phenolic. Cocoa and bitter chocolate with fermented plums and figs in the taste; cheap red wine. Medium-heavy body; a bit thin for the style; dusty and woody; alcohol heat.

I'm not sure where I got this beer, and there is no dating information on the bottle, but I suspect it's circa 2015. I believe this beer hasn't aged as well as other heavy hitting ales might. It still has some appeal, especially with the taste, but other aspects, while decent enough, just don't make for an very memorable experience at this stage.
Jan 29, 2021
 
Rated: 3.97 by NolaHopHead from Louisiana

May 29, 2020
 
Rated: 4.5 by Ristaccia from Nebraska

Aug 07, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by teamwiggum from Wisconsin

Apr 05, 2019
Photo of LiquidAmber
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington

3.96/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark walnut brown, appearing nearly opaque in the glass, with a thin khaki head that dissipates to a ring around the glass with slight lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, dates, figs, hazelnuts and light oak. Flavor is dry caramel malt, dates, walnuts, cognac soaked dried fruit, hints of fresh cherries and plums, old musty oak, somewhat oxidized. Dry, earthy and woody finish. Medium bodied with light creaminess and sharp carbonation, a little lighter than expected for a barleywine. The base barleywine has all the characteristics of an English barleywine, but there is a lot more earthy and woody influence from the barrel as well as strong aged vinous cognac flavors. The dry mustiness develops throughout the taste into a quite cellar influenced finish. I liked this, but it had notes that were reminiscent of drinking a rich fortified wine in a dank cave. This has now aged for 3 years in my cellar and I doubt it would gain any more character; I think the dry woodiness will dominate into the future. Glad I tried this and I think this age is about right. Interesting; wish it hadn't been so rare and pricey, it would have been interesting to try it fresh and aged.
Apr 23, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by vfgccp from New York

Jan 28, 2018
Photo of CHickman
Reviewed by CHickman from New York

3.75/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Held on to this for 2 years and it pours like spent motor oil with a nose that's maple syrup, toffee molasses and rum with brown sugar and tart rotting fruit. It's a lot more boozy than expected and cloyingly sweet with a ton of dark fruit, toffee, maple syrup, dark rum, rum soaked cherries, brown sugar, oaky and earthy notes. I hoped for more here and am a little disappointed at how sweet this drinks.
Jan 28, 2018
 
Rated: 3.73 by gbiello from Massachusetts

Jan 20, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by liamt07 from Canada (ON)

Aug 25, 2017
 
Rated: 3.4 by von_kaiser from Connecticut

Jul 23, 2017
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

4.27/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Tap at ginger man in Boston

Light fizzy head fades quick, dark murky chestnut brown color no light

Nose is like sticking my nose in the bung of a cognac barrel, loads of oak, toasted buttery oak, wood esters and saw dust, then big malts, sweet candi sugar, biscuity toffee, sweet caramel, brown sugar, fruity esters, very raisiny, little doughy malt, nice fruity cognac

Taste sweet candy, candi sugar and loads of caramel, toffee, little biscuity, chewy nougat and candy bar, big barrel, toasted oak buttery wood and saw dust, plenty of cognac, sweet fruity apple cognac, big raisin again too with nice fruity esters, a little booze warmth,. Sticky syrupy but drier finish, little more booze as loads of oak and cognac

Mouth is thicker a little syrupy, decent carb little warming booze

Overall basically what I expected, a nice Belgian strong with loads of cognac and barrel.
Jul 06, 2017
 
Rated: 2.41 by Chico1985 from Massachusetts

May 12, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by ConradKenney from Maryland

May 08, 2017
Photo of Jeffo
Reviewed by Jeffo from Netherlands

1.91/5  rDev -51.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
Got this one in a box sometime a long time ago. Cheers to whomever it was!

From a bomber into a snifter.
Some kind of collaboration with Jeppe at Evil Twin

APPEARANCE: This one’s a slow foamer upon opening. Never a good sign. Pours a 1+ finger, looser, off-white head that quickly recedes to a half wisp and ring. Opaque maroon red with no carbonation evident. A ring remains until the end but leaves no lacing on the glass.

SMELL: A strong medicinal nose with cotton candy and butterscotch as well. That said, this is mostly medicinal paint thinner. I get the cognac barrel in there, but this is really rough and is full of ethanol. Jeppe might have the perfect nose but this beer does not.

TASTE: Wood and woody cognac up front. Boozy and woody at the swallow too, with enough ethanol in there as well. This is like they just ghetto barreled this one by dumping a shot of cheap cognac into every bottle. Some caramel sweetness and red fruits in the finish, leaving into a bolder and lingering finish of toffee, wood, some cognac and piercing alcohol.Very raw and full of wood and ethanol.

PALATE: Thinner body and higher levels of carbonation. Fizzy and prickly on the palate, goes down with a burn and scratch finishing somewhat sticky. Heat lingers. Rather harsh here.

OVERALL: This is tough going. Forgetting about the obvious misnomer of a name, the nose and flavor of this one are rough going. Raw and “cheap,” for lack of better words. It seems like they simply brewed a decent barleywine and then dumped a shot of overly woody and harsh cognac into every bottle, giving it an overarching medicinal ethanol quality. Not something I’d want again, and definitely disappointing given Westbrook is usually so solid. Pass.
May 05, 2017
 
Rated: 3.4 by dcmchew from Romania

Mar 31, 2017
 
Rated: 4.22 by costanzo_mike from Massachusetts

Feb 24, 2017
 
Rated: 3.23 by Eziel from Ohio

Feb 22, 2017
 
Rated: 4.2 by Hootie159 from Massachusetts

Feb 19, 2017
 
Rated: 3.9 by Sammy from Canada (ON)

Jan 02, 2017
Photo of gatornation
Reviewed by gatornation from Arizona

3.81/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2015 bottle. Pours a copper/cola color with a 1 finger khaki head that recedes to a fresh cap. smell of molasses dark fruit and brown sugar . taste starts with dank brandy notes with brown sugar it mixes with old wood and plum a sweet finish. mouth feel is sweet and full many layers of flavor from wet wood to cooked brown sugars, definitely a sipper with cognac and tobacco notes, a dry very sweet finish. Not sure if this would be better fresh my bottle is about 14 months old.
Jan 02, 2017
The Perfect Nose from Westbrook Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 100 ratings