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M Belgian-Style Barleywine
Midnight Sun Brewing Co.
- From:
- Midnight Sun Brewing Co.
- Alaska, United States
- Style:
- American Barleywine
- ABV:
- 11.6%
- Score:
- 100
- Avg:
- 4.67 | pDev: 7.07%
- Reviews:
- 43
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Mar 24, 2022
- Added:
- Jun 16, 2005
- Wants:
- 440
- Gots:
- 11
On this 10-year mark, Midnight Sun Brewing Company proudly releases its 1000th batch of beer - a larger-than-life Belgian-style Barley Wine (if such a style exists) simply called M - in commemoration of the enduring spirit that founded and sustains this little brewery in the extreme Northwest. Making M required a massive grain bill - seven seductive malts - boosted by strength-inducing Belgian candi sugar. Once original gravity hit 37 Plato, a frenzied fermentation ensued: four completely fabulous yeast strains, two of Belgian origin, transformed this sweet concoction into all that is beer. But not just any beer. A beer of madcap magnitude - 11.6% ABV. Character and complexity increased exponentialy while M meddled and mellowed for several months in all-American bourbon oak barrels. Blending the aged beer before bottling ascertained smoothness. M is mesmerizing, pouring dark and silky. Caramel and spice waft up from the glass; bourbon, molasses, leather and vanilla follow. The first taste proffers tobacco, burnt sugar and raisin with a sublime port-like finish, but bourbon - smooth, sensuous, brooding bourdon - is ever-present. The finish, a bit edgy like an American take on barley wine, provides the necessary leap toward overall balance. M is a precious gift to ourselves as well as you, seekers of beer-that-is-beyond-beer adventures... We are but mere mortals in the presence of M.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by hopdog:
Reviewed by hopdog from Pennsylvania
4.67/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
4.67/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
22oz bottle acquired in trade with DarkElf (thanks!).
Poured a dark mahogany color with a smaller sized tan head. Aromas of dark fruits, chocolate, caramel, light roast, smoke, brown sugar, bourbon (not overpowering) and wood. The woodiness came out more and more in the aroma as the beer aired out. Aromas were very complex and I kept getting more as I smelled each time. Tastes of dark fruits (raisins and plums), caramel, earthy / peaty, woody, candi & brown sugar, and vanilla. Very sweet, not cloying, but any sweeter and it would be. Alcohol completely hidden. Creamy body.
The barrel aging was done very well; it complimented both the aromas and tastes nicely.
Notes from and tasted on 3/20/07
Nov 05, 2008Poured a dark mahogany color with a smaller sized tan head. Aromas of dark fruits, chocolate, caramel, light roast, smoke, brown sugar, bourbon (not overpowering) and wood. The woodiness came out more and more in the aroma as the beer aired out. Aromas were very complex and I kept getting more as I smelled each time. Tastes of dark fruits (raisins and plums), caramel, earthy / peaty, woody, candi & brown sugar, and vanilla. Very sweet, not cloying, but any sweeter and it would be. Alcohol completely hidden. Creamy body.
The barrel aging was done very well; it complimented both the aromas and tastes nicely.
Notes from and tasted on 3/20/07
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by rodmanfor3 from Vermont
4.48/5 rDev -4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.48/5 rDev -4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Truthfully, the beer is now way past its prime, and way too "thin" for the thicc-loving youths of the BiL lifestyle. Seek this bottle out only if you want to gain an appreciation for how far ahead Gabe's vision for beer was back in 2005. This is the precursor to ADWTD b3, the greatest barleywine ever made. It is the original Brew 1000, the beer that sailed a half-dozen Anabasis bottlings and the inspiration behind BW legends like Great and Aaron.
Gabe is the great tastemaker of the BiL tradition. A taste of M will give you an idea of how far ahead he saw into the future of craft beer.
Mar 24, 2022Gabe is the great tastemaker of the BiL tradition. A taste of M will give you an idea of how far ahead he saw into the future of craft beer.
Reviewed by unclekeith from Alaska
4.65/5 rDev -0.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
4.65/5 rDev -0.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
750 into a Teku at Anchorage brewing with the brewer
L: Unassuming, but dark with a small head and nice collar - holding up extremely well for 11 years in a bottle
S: Dark fruit, figs plums, Belgian yeasty esters
T: Following the nose, very smooth, fruity, some bourbon and red wine
F: No heat, great mouthfeel
O: A triumph - a world class beer - very different than a decade ago but still going strong
Oct 22, 2016L: Unassuming, but dark with a small head and nice collar - holding up extremely well for 11 years in a bottle
S: Dark fruit, figs plums, Belgian yeasty esters
T: Following the nose, very smooth, fruity, some bourbon and red wine
F: No heat, great mouthfeel
O: A triumph - a world class beer - very different than a decade ago but still going strong
Reviewed by Fux from France
4.86/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
4.86/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Sampled at the Tasting to Sink all Sea Shepherds with things like MMM or Dave alongside.
A: Very dark brown, almost black with a small creamy off-white head which doesn't last very long.
S: Smell of dark fruits, fudge, vanilla and roasted malts. Signs of oxydation (light). No way this is a Belgian style barleywine. Deep, complex and balanced. Wonderful.
T: Taste follows the nose with great chocolate flavors dominating. Some very nice tartness, faint but which makes the beer even more drinkable (reminding me a little bit of the flavor profile of the Kate the Great). Then come vanilla, leather, dark fruits and liquorice. As deep and complex as foreseen from the nose. No oxydation from the taste. Marvelous.
M: Medium to high body. Sweetness is really low for the style, which is great! Alcohol is also well hidden. Smooth, velvety palate but not sticky. Just perfect mouthfeel.
O: Awesome beer, actually quite unusual for the style. It could have been a perfect 5 with a little bit less of age on it. It still is the best barlewine I've been given the chance to try. I loved it and I hope I will see this again!
Oct 15, 2016A: Very dark brown, almost black with a small creamy off-white head which doesn't last very long.
S: Smell of dark fruits, fudge, vanilla and roasted malts. Signs of oxydation (light). No way this is a Belgian style barleywine. Deep, complex and balanced. Wonderful.
T: Taste follows the nose with great chocolate flavors dominating. Some very nice tartness, faint but which makes the beer even more drinkable (reminding me a little bit of the flavor profile of the Kate the Great). Then come vanilla, leather, dark fruits and liquorice. As deep and complex as foreseen from the nose. No oxydation from the taste. Marvelous.
M: Medium to high body. Sweetness is really low for the style, which is great! Alcohol is also well hidden. Smooth, velvety palate but not sticky. Just perfect mouthfeel.
O: Awesome beer, actually quite unusual for the style. It could have been a perfect 5 with a little bit less of age on it. It still is the best barlewine I've been given the chance to try. I loved it and I hope I will see this again!
Reviewed by GRG1313 from California
4.39/5 rDev -6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.39/5 rDev -6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Admittedly I tried this for the first time 10 years after its release, the bottle having been cellared the past several years in a 53-55 degree walk in cellar. Sometimes cellaring works - this time it did. This beer is aged; it's old and it's past its prime. However, it remains a beer to be reckoned with.
Deep ruby or pomegranate brown with an assertive spiced coffee, malty, raising and cooked chocolate nose. The texture of the beer (the mouthfeel) is like velvet. This one was a huge surprise all around. I finally opened it since I found it in the back of my cellar and I just "knew" that it would be old and funky and just needed to be opened. Well, it was wonderful! Oxidized? Yeah...a bit, but the flavor profile was all there and truth is, it was part of a blind tasting so no one was influenced by what it was! We were all very surprised and delighted.
Aug 01, 2015Deep ruby or pomegranate brown with an assertive spiced coffee, malty, raising and cooked chocolate nose. The texture of the beer (the mouthfeel) is like velvet. This one was a huge surprise all around. I finally opened it since I found it in the back of my cellar and I just "knew" that it would be old and funky and just needed to be opened. Well, it was wonderful! Oxidized? Yeah...a bit, but the flavor profile was all there and truth is, it was part of a blind tasting so no one was influenced by what it was! We were all very surprised and delighted.
Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California
4.32/5 rDev -7.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
4.32/5 rDev -7.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to GRG1313 for sharing this one at his tasting.
Release date: 5/5/05.
Pours a murky reddish-brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of toasted malt, caramel, toffee, dark fruit, and raisin aromas. Taste is much the same with toast, caramel, toffee, dark fruit, raisin, and slight cardboard flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of earth bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and sticky mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer that is showing a bit of oxidation in the taste, but the flavors are still fantastic to me.
Serving type: bottle.
Jul 28, 2015Release date: 5/5/05.
Pours a murky reddish-brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of toasted malt, caramel, toffee, dark fruit, and raisin aromas. Taste is much the same with toast, caramel, toffee, dark fruit, raisin, and slight cardboard flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of earth bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and sticky mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer that is showing a bit of oxidation in the taste, but the flavors are still fantastic to me.
Serving type: bottle.
Reviewed by Retsinis from Arizona
4.64/5 rDev -0.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.64/5 rDev -0.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Ruby Porterish color. Medium carbed head retention. Semi oxidized, notes of caramel, cola, spice, malt, touch of rye. Wow. Admittedly past prime, but thank you Richard. What a treat to taste.
Jul 27, 2015
M Belgian-Style Barleywine from Midnight Sun Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
100 out of
100 with
99 ratings
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