Donkey Punch
SweetWater Brewing Company

Donkey PunchDonkey Punch
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From:
SweetWater Brewing Company
 
Georgia, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
10%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.09 | pDev: 11.74%
Reviews:
45
Ratings:
58
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 26, 2020
Added:
Sep 21, 2007
Wants:
  62
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by doubleipa:
Photo of doubleipa
Reviewed by doubleipa from Georgia

4.5/5  rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Seems to be more of a DIPA than a barleywine.Heavy hops, big resin, grapefruit and orange. Nice big frothy, off-white head. Color was amber/orange and rather murky. Can't taste the alcohol ro much in th eway of maltiness. This is really easy drinking. I'll put some in the cellar and see how they are in a year or two.
Jan 10, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.06 by RochefortChris from North Carolina

Jan 26, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by GeorgiaBeerGuy from Georgia

Oct 10, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by WOLFGANG from South Carolina

Jul 21, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by GABrew from Georgia

Jul 08, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by DiscLizard from North Carolina

Jun 24, 2013
 
Rated: 1.5 by Kilhd from Alabama

May 08, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by claspada from New Jersey

Apr 21, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by t0rin0 from California

Feb 26, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by MAJ85 from Georgia

Dec 27, 2012
 
 
Rated: 3 by Jenray from Texas

Dec 11, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by FreshmanPour77 from Minnesota

Dec 03, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by jophish17 from Georgia

Nov 14, 2011
Photo of Vancer
Reviewed by Vancer from Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Big ol' gold foil capped, cork & caged 1 liter bottle of this jewel, courtesy of my 2007 Secret Santa cartdan. Thanks again - and how the hell did I sit on this for so long??

Let's just cut to the chase - the presentation, aroma and taste are all classic barleywine; haze amber, tan head and lace, malty orange liquor. Hints of caramel and toffee just add to the experience. Thick and rich, booze well settled after the years. Actually even stays sweet tasting through the finish.

This sips like a fine wine liquor, I was really saddened to see it's no longer brewed.
Feb 07, 2010
Photo of illidurit
Reviewed by illidurit from California

3.82/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
RBSG09 on the bus courtesy of some unnamed kind soul. Pours a deep golden amber with a wet off-white head. Aromas of sugar and caramel, cake icing, big citrus hops. Flavor is grainy with caramel and a lighter hoppiness. Dry finish with an oddly light body.
Jul 13, 2009
Photo of CoolJosh
Reviewed by CoolJosh from Pennsylvania

4.34/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
I gotta tell you folks, I don't know what I did to deserve the friends I have. My great buddy Treyrab traded away his last El Rojo Diablo solely to obtain this beer and present it to me on my birthday. Cheers to you, my man for such generous act!

2005 Vintage - Poured from a 1 Liter swing-top bottle into a Lost Abbey Straight Edge Tulip.

The body appears to be a little bit thinner then I anticipated for a barleywine. It looks similar to apple cider in color, with a hazy light brown amber body. Nice foamy 1-finger off yellow head adds a beautiful cap to this intriguing look. Leaves a ton of sticky lacing, and lots of carbonation stream through the body.

The smell is out of this world. For a beer that was brewed so long ago, I can't comprehend this fresh hop smell. The smell is best described as a sweet floral scent that was just hopped. Boat loads of sweet caramel and toffee really tie this smell as a whole together. There is some sweet vanilla and a sprinkle of toasted caramel in there that really adds nicely to the complexity. Well played, Sweetwater.

The hops are really noticeable in the onset. Creamy caramel and burnt toffee, the caramel malts provide a crazy sweet oblivion. Some vanilla comes out as well. The old ultra bitter hops provide an astringent characteristic that can be easily overlooked. Nice lemon backsplash on the tail.

I was really surprised with the carbonation in this beer, it was brewed in 2005 mind you. Despite the moderate carb the beer maintained a nice creaminess but was a little bit on the thin side.

Very approachable. Please sir... can I have some more?
Jul 10, 2009
Photo of RustyDiamond
Reviewed by RustyDiamond from Georgia

4.35/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2009 edition called Sweetwater DP Barleywine Ale, which should be filed under a new entry. Awaiting approval, stay tuned

On tap @ the brewery yesterday. Bright copper appearance with some orange highlights. Head is super creamy & frothy, near white in color. Quite the tangy citrus aroma- tangerine, navel orange. First sip was surprisingly malty, sourdough bread followed by a big citric hop flavor. But not overwhelming at all...very big and very balanced. Good 10.2 vapor to remind you where you are. Noticeable punch of floral, bitterness in the back of the throat. Finishes very nice...some bitterness, some citrus yet not too dry.

This beer not only has a different name than the 2007 Donkey Punch, it has a different malt & hop bill:

DP = 3500# 2 row, 125# munich, 275# 70/80, 100# Victory 4000# total
Hops = 1st Summit 2nd Columbus 3rd Columbus & Centennial 4th Centennial & Cascade
Dhopped- Columbus Cascade & Centennial

Donkey Punch = 2800# 2 row, 100# Munich, 220# 70/80, 100# victory 3220 total
Hops = 1st Nugget & Chinook 2nd Nugget 3rd Nugget & Centennial 4th Centennial & Cascade
Dhopped- Nugget Cascade Centennial
Jun 26, 2009
Photo of treyrab
Reviewed by treyrab from California

4.54/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Huge thanks to Mikesgroove for hooking me up with this. I gave it to jac5084 yesterday for his birthday and we cracked it to celebrate. Poured from the huge 1L bottle into a snifter...

A: Pours a very, very murky brown copper with a decent one finger head. After being in the cellar for a few years, I was really surprised at how well the carbonation had kept on this. One would never know this is vintage. The appearance reminded me of apple cider with the color and haze, but overall it was quite good.

S: This was hysterically robust. Starts with a blast of citrus hops. Not necessarily fresh citrus hops, but pretty damn close. Very nice caramel and sweet toffee in the scent as well. Some nice apricot and peach flavors creep into the smell as well. Overall: Fantastic.

T: The hops are the first thing that come to mind. For being aged for a few years, they are still a very big part of this beer. Incredibly smooth taste of bittersweet caramel and burnt toffee with a hint of roast on the end.

M/D: This was incredibly creamy, but by no means thick. For 10ABV, this beer went down faster than any Barleywine I've had.

Thanks again Mike, this was an incredible beer!
Jun 26, 2009
Photo of bhalter8
Reviewed by bhalter8 from Georgia

4.23/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Had a bottle in my cellar, but a good friend who randomly had held on to a few bottles brought one over for a dinner we had, and I had to rate it. I drank a fair amount of this fresh and enjoyed the hop bitterness in it at that time (albeit out of style, and more of a DIPA), so we'll see what I think of it now that it has been sitting for a couple of years. Pours a deep/dark amber color with a decent 1/2" head still appearing (Sweetwater's swing tops have presented issues in storage). I predominately pick up the sweet malt aroma that has grown from the age, and a fair departure from the original high IBU smell. I am really enjoying the taste; a nice mix of the sweet malt character from aging a big beer like this, combined with a fading bitterness that is not yet gone. Carbonization still exists, and makes it a sipper for sure. Still rests nicely in the mouth, and is easy enough to drink. I look forward to trying this again down the road to see what happens. I also hope Sweetwater decides to make this again.
May 02, 2009
Donkey Punch from SweetWater Brewing Company
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 58 ratings