20 Ton Ale
Two Roads Brewing Company

20 Ton Ale20 Ton Ale
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From:
Two Roads Brewing Company
 
Connecticut, United States
Style:
English Barleywine
Ranked #167
ABV:
12%
Score:
88
Ranked #15,094
Avg:
3.91 | pDev: 8.18%
Reviews:
29
Ratings:
107
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 04, 2023
Added:
Dec 03, 2014
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  28
When you turn a 100-year-old factory building into a brewery, it comes with a few "bonus" features, like a 20-ton overhead crane and hook! This beer honors our hefty inheritance-an English-style barleywine ale so big your taste buds will need hard hats! Brewed with specially sourced heirloom malt and highly hopped, this ale has a malty sweetness that's nicely balanced by its fruity character and intense hop aroma.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Bouleboubier:
Photo of Bouleboubier
Reviewed by Bouleboubier from New Jersey

3.93/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
(bottled 10/20/15... let this sit out for a good 20+ minutes before pouring into Chouffe tulip)

L: blonde I would not call this - this is about where an English barleywine should be - not sure why the American versions are red... this appears to have a crazy chill haze... the foam is loose and doesn't want to hold - I'm calling quick turnaround here... lees bottom of the bottle - seems to be miscalculation

S: hops out front: predominantly orange-y, with an underlying bubblegum and caramel with flowery overtones... mellow, satiny booze caressing the nose holes... smells like an American beer, despite how y'all bill it... for sure...

T: oooh, shit - wasn't expecting that lusciousness... lemon oil and honey with a meekly-workmanly-malty, Absolut Citron chaser... delicate yet firm tannic bitterness carrying through... there's some delightful flowery herbal (chamomile?) highlights sprinkling stardust here - hoping it's hop-derived, but likely some fusels interplayin'... it's got a pleasant fruitiness that is (due to the yeast?), decidedly British-yeast-and-blond-ale derived

F: quite lip-smackingly dryly-silky and only phantom viscous... it ain't climaxin' my soul, but this is a rarely-pleasant shoulder massage - kudos!

O: as an American barleywine looking to England, it's not all that bad really... not that much character, but the end result taste is balanced well enough and rather enjoyable... I'd have to say, though, this may be one of the most quintessential beers in this style that tastes of both barley and (white) wine... I'd suggest them either hopping this more with the more characterful British hops (Challenger and First Gold, for starters), or just hopping this to shit with EKG - no, Fuggles - and ageing it 6 months plus before release
Dec 25, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.99 by NYR-Zuuuuc from Connecticut

Mar 04, 2023
Photo of EMV
Reviewed by EMV from Pennsylvania

3.71/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2015 vintage. Poured from a cork'n'cage bomber into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Light golden copper pour with 2 fingers of foamy white head. Nice ring of lacing... some sediment at the end of the pour.

S: Stale hops and malts/sugars. A bit of honey/sweets.

T.F: Semi-sweet up front... malts and honey. Toasted grains and caramel. The hops are past their best but add some earthy character and spice. A little yeast... more sweets and brown sugar. Medium bodied... decent carbonation.

O: The hops are past their best, but the overall flavor remains solid. Some decent sweets/grains for the Barleywine and enough hop character to add interest. Probably best fresh, but still a solid brew.
Jul 30, 2021
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
i really like a blonde barleywine, its a cool twist on the style, and its the time of year for strong ales like this, so this was right up my alley. i think its a neat idea and challenge to see how much grain flavor you can get out of paler malts and without cooking them down into caramel, and i think this beer was successful in doing so. they say it uses heirloom malts, but i wish i got more information that that, it doesnt smell or taste particularly unique to me on the grain side, but thats not a criticism, its full flavored, extremely full bodied, and has a slickness to the feel, not as over the top sugary as i thought it might be. there is nice earthiness to it, and a peculiar freshness, a harvest time element that i am not used to in the style, not automatically so wintery. the english ale yeast gives it needed depth, but its also oddly hoppy too, not oddly i shouldnt say, but more hoppy than i am used to in self proclaimed english styled barleywines. higher alpha than anticipated, but i like the balance it brings. notes of honey, cut flowers, jasmine, and rock candy. its boozy too, but i like that in the style. these guys cover a ton of ground, make a whole lot of different styles, and so much of it is excellent. no wonder they seem to be taking over the country right now...
Jan 19, 2019
 
Rated: 4.1 by HopBelT from Belgium

Nov 12, 2018
 
Rated: 3.19 by Diura from New York

Apr 23, 2018
Photo of KevinSirWilliamGus
Rated by KevinSirWilliamGus from Rhode Island

4.04/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
strong beer, and well balanced
Jan 07, 2018
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

4.24/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Two Roads Brewing Company "20 Ton Ale"
750 ml brown glass bottle, corked and caged; "BTLD 10/20/15 15:09"
$11.99 @ Giant, Havertown, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: The liquid level is just below the cork, less than a half of an inch away. The cork came out with a mild "plop" rather than a "pop" but it still poured a two-finger thick head of pillowy off-white over a hazy amber body with golden highlights. I had no intention of trying to get it to sediment out, but if you've got a cellared bottle you should probably try to pour it clear to see what it's like, and then add the yeast as that usually changes the taste a bit, and can quite often change it more dramatically, and not always for the better. So, back to the beer in front of me, there's nothing like pouring yourself an Imperial pint of barleywine at 12% abv! This will surely be a one-beer night! The aroma is malty sweet with some light spiciness that might be from alcohol and/or might be from hops, as well as some leafy, piney, and grassy hops. The flavor delivers much more malt. It's very lightly caramelish (golden caramel), subtly toffeeish, a bit honeyish, grainy, bread, and softly nutty. There's also an interesting fruitiness to it that seems to evoke both golden and dark-skinned fruits. I'm finding apple, dark raisins, and also some orange which must be coming from hops. I think I'm finding a note of vanilla as well, but that might be imagined based on the sweetness. Or maybe that's the alcohol that I've already had talking. As of right now I'm enjoying this and thinking I could go for another full Imperial pint afterwards although I know the alcohol will slug me out before that happens (and I don't have another bottle anyway). The alcohol, by the way, is clear. It's right out there. It's not too hot, or biting or anything but it's certainly not hidden. Fortunately it's not that bitter, and the sweetness of the malt is a great foil for the alcohol, or vice versa. It finishes with some fairly quickly dwindling residual sweetish malt and a spritz of alcohol, and some lightly piney, leafy, and spicy hops (unless that's the alcohol showing). It's medium-full in body and moderately carbonated, leaving it with a gentle caress on the tongue that then softens to become smoother. Looking back, the head retention is good but the lacing could be better. I guess that all of the sugar is a bonus towards that but that the alcohol cuts down on it so it's kind of a trade-off. Still, I'd call it a 4 out of 5. What about the clarity? I'm not sure about that. I guess I'd rather have it there for aging than completely filtered so I'll give it a pass, especially as I haven't cellared this. Overall, I haven't had many golden barleywines, I think Bass had one probably the best known and maybe the original, Iron Hill had one, maybe a few others and this is the most rounded, balanced, and interesting one that I've tasted despite the alcohol. Very nicely done. I hope they brew this behemoth again.
Nov 26, 2017
Photo of porterpie
Reviewed by porterpie from Connecticut

4.17/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Dusted off and opened the 2014. Fruity nose, fruit/alcohol finish. 12% abv requires you to share or otherwise have no plans for the evening involved driving.
Oct 22, 2017
 
Rated: 3.9 by arr3388 from New York

Oct 14, 2017
Photo of feuematt
Reviewed by feuematt from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pale colored beer with a rapidly fading head...taste is sweet toffee and fruity with a alcoholic burn...overall a good ale that I think should be tried at least once.
Sep 17, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by calcnerd from Pennsylvania

Jun 22, 2017
 
Rated: 3.85 by Mikeluzzjr from Massachusetts

Apr 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4.53 by cts309 from Virginia

Apr 16, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by paulish from New York

Dec 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.82 by Fitzy01 from Maine

Oct 15, 2016
 
Rated: 4.12 by Odysseyalien from New Jersey

Sep 04, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by rodmanfor3 from Vermont

Aug 30, 2016
Photo of puboflyons
Reviewed by puboflyons from New Hampshire

3.82/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
From the corked, caged bottle dated 10/20/15. Sampled on July 31, 2016.

The pour is mostly orange in color with a quick lasting white foamy head. Fades abruptly and becomes nothing. Good clarity.

The aroma is subtle but nice. I get a roasted malt character, some fruit, slight booze, and a clean hop note.

The body is medium.

The taste is warming, fruity, clean and crisp (basically) and easy to handle.
Aug 01, 2016
 
Rated: 3.52 by Doomcifer from Rhode Island

Jun 10, 2016
20 Ton Ale from Two Roads Brewing Company
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 107 ratings