John Barleycorn Barleywine Ale
Mad River Brewing Company

John Barleycorn Barleywine AleJohn Barleycorn Barleywine Ale
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From:
Mad River Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
Ranked #182
ABV:
11.4%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,124
Avg:
3.74 | pDev: 12.83%
Reviews:
369
Ratings:
528
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 11, 2023
Added:
Sep 23, 2001
Wants:
  23
Gots:
  33
Same recipe each year. ABV varies slightly 9.5-11.0%
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Latarnik:
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Rated by Latarnik from New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%

May 24, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of Beersnake
Reviewed by Beersnake from California

4.06/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Just picked this up and it appears to be a 2016 bottle. Surprised! Pours a nice dark brown/red with little head. The nose is sweet caramel candy, figs, plums, and raisins. The taste follows the nose. Sweet candy, malts, maple, raisins, slight hops, plums, and some earthy notes. Lovely. The aftertaste is sweet toffee and slight citrus peel. Dry.
Jul 11, 2023
Photo of gefinley
Rated by gefinley from California

3.94/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2018 bottling, 10.15% ABV.
Feb 11, 2021
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.74/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
barley wine bottle share on 1/31. Malty, sweet aroma... fruity and floral. Malty, alcoholic and sweet up front. Nicely balanced, yet moderately bitter on the tail end with plenty of alcohol. Full-bodied with an oily mouthfeel and lively carbonation. Long, astringent, bitter-sweet, slightly dry finish.
Feb 04, 2020
Photo of neenerzig
Reviewed by neenerzig from Ohio

4.35/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
My very good friend Jon Passow from northern California sent me a bottle of the Cellar Reserve 2014 edition of this beer about 13 months ago. It was aging in my cellar until tonight. This batch clocks in at 10% AVB. Poured out of the 12 oz bottle into my snifter glass, this beer pours a very dark copper color that brightens nicely when held up to the light. Has a slightly tan head that;s about 2/3 of an inch thick when first poured that settles a few minutes after being poured to a nice film layer of big cluster swirls of foam on the beer's surface along with a nice, thick ring lining the inside of the glass and some pretty good lacing. Aromas of dark fruits of figs, dates, a hint of plum, alcohol, some yeasty esters, and some toasted, bready malt sweetness. Also a hint of earthy, slightly resinous hops. The flavor profile is very similar, with the aforementioned dark fruit sweetness of dates, figs, and plums along with a yeasty, bready, toasted malt caramel sweetness that is rounded out with a touch of earthy, resinous hops that add just a hint of bitterness. The 10% ABV is well masked in the flavor profile. Has a slightly crisp, incredibly smooth and somewhat creamy/frothy, medium to full bodied mouthfeel with light to moderate carbonation. Just a really excellent flavor profile. Very well balanced, and for the most part, the different flavors here are each sort of laid back, yet this works very well here indeed! Has a slightly syrupy, sweet fruity and slightly toasty bread malt aftertaste. I am very glad I got the chance to try this one! Thanks again Jon!

Eric
Jan 22, 2020
Photo of unlikelyspiderperson
Reviewed by unlikelyspiderperson from California

3.94/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a deep toffee/red with a thin but persistent nearly white head of dense foam. stupendous legs on this bad boy, makin the wine geeks jealous
The smell is subdued, vaguely sweet. Some of the dark fruit notes, not very prominent
Taste is malty, lightly caramely, with a spiced and stewed fruit character. Cardamom and a brightly bitter, almost gingerlike note balance out the heavy caramel/toffee body. There is a bit of a buildup of syrupy ness that seems to gather a floral/herbal bitterness as you sip through it, the only real reveal that this is an american barleywine (they don't release it until it has aged a year from fermentation so I'm sure that helps)
Mouthfeel is good, as mentioned above there is a bit of syrupyness that builds and makes it unlikely I would want to drink too many of these at a time, but it is full bodied and smooth.
Overall I'm glad to have finally revisited this old favorite. The release party when I lived a few blocks from the brewery 10 years ago was what turned me on to barleywines as a style but I probably hadn't had this in about 3 or 4 years. Might have to go back for a case as this one seems like a prime candidate for cellaring
Jun 08, 2019
 
Rated: 3.5 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Jan 01, 2019
 
Rated: 3.9 by BlueSpader from Washington

Aug 14, 2018
 
Rated: 3.74 by TheCrowsEye from California

May 17, 2018
 
Rated: 2.5 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Jan 02, 2018
Photo of argock
Reviewed by argock from Virginia

3.79/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
2012 Version
Pours opaque dark brown-Auburn. Aroma is not very inviting with some cardboard and some weird smell most like the inside of a bag of dog food. With agitation this dissipates to leave more caramel aromas. Flavor is very good with a good balance of hip bitterness still lingering but solid mid- and darker-range malts coming through. Feel is also good but could have a touch more heft. All in all, pretty impressive but I think is probably better a little hotter and younger. Twhs.
Oct 31, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by NickThePyro from Washington

Aug 24, 2017
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Reviewed by DavidR_9 from California

4.02/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
12 oz. bottled in 2014, heavily poured into a belgian tulip glass. The heavy pour creates a half inch of tan-khaki colored head on top of a deep reddish-brown body. Dark fruity aroma with a small hint of alcohol. The taste was really pleasant and balanced with darker fruity notes of tamarind and maybe a hint of dates. Not much of a lingering aftertaste, the alcohol definitely becomes more prominent as the brew warms up. Overall an enjoyable brew when served cold right out of the refrigerator.
Mar 14, 2017
 
Rated: 3.74 by sjrider from California

Feb 26, 2017
 
Rated: 4.87 by Jodio from Texas

Feb 11, 2017
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Reviewed by PA-Michigander from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I had a 2007 bottle in August 2016 and it had held up wonderfully. Lot of caramel left in the thick body of the beer. Smell was a little odd, but the flavor allowed me to look past that.
Jan 29, 2017
Photo of DucksFan16
Rated by DucksFan16 from Tennessee

3.69/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
2014 vintage, enjoyed on 11/20/2016.
Nov 21, 2016
 
Rated: 3.6 by ledouge from Virginia

May 23, 2016
 
Rated: 3.21 by deNerval from California

May 01, 2016
Photo of instinct2
Rated by instinct2 from Indiana

4/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2009 bottle. Lot of butter flavor that worked well.
Apr 22, 2016
John Barleycorn Barleywine Ale from Mad River Brewing Company
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 528 ratings