Old No. 23
Bristol Brewing Company

Old No. 23Old No. 23
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From:
Bristol Brewing Company
 
Colorado, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
Ranked #157
ABV:
11.25%
Score:
87
Ranked #16,809
Avg:
3.87 | pDev: 11.63%
Reviews:
59
Ratings:
80
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 03, 2023
Added:
Aug 10, 2002
Wants:
  8
Gots:
  8
An annual Bristol tradition, Old No. 23 revives an English farmhouse brewery practice of making a complex ale to set aside for special occasions. Our version, while painstaking and time-consuming to brew, rewards the connoisseur with an ale that has the depth and complexity of a good brandy or single malt scotch. Massive quantities of malt and hops, a long aging time and limited availability make this a special ale worthy of its reputation.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ccrida:
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Reviewed by ccrida from Oregon

3.81/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
12 oz bottle, vintage 2007, poured into my Bristol Mass Transit shaker glass, Old No. 23 is a dark bronze with a medium sized bone colored head, tight creamy and long lasting, leaving medium lace. Served just above cellar temp.

Smell is strong, rich malt, lots of crystal, some floral hop character and a hint of English ale esters. Overall, a bit too sweet and thick.

Taste is nice and chewy, semi-sweet and well balanced. Lots of malt flavor and fruity esters,
Very little hop character but plenty of really clean alcohol on the bone dry finish, which leaves a pleasantly slight burn in the back of the throat. A very nice big English BW, avoiding the syrupiness I sensed on the nose.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side for the strength.

Drinkability is pretty good, not the most complex BW though, and a bit to strong to pick up speed unless your feeling reckless, but there is a smoothness and balance to this that ups the drinkability nicely.
May 04, 2008
More User Ratings:
Photo of DIM
Reviewed by DIM from Pennsylvania

4.04/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
This is lovely, bottled a little over a year ago. Not overly sweet up front, lots of shortbread cookies along with some dried apple and just a little caramel. The finish dries out with strong, potpourri like bitterness and a hint anise. Good stuff, thanks Dave!
Nov 03, 2023
Photo of LunchMoney
Reviewed by LunchMoney from Minnesota

4.29/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
My first time having a barleywine, so take this review with a grain of salt. The look was great in the snifter. There was no head, but it looked very refined, like a glass of brandy. The smell is nice - a bit more on the fruity end, but not quite as much as a sour. The taste also has that bit of fruitiness (as opposed to malt). The feel is little thin, watery.
Overall, this is a beer for a certain time and place. It’s a winter and holidays by the fireplace beer, not a summer afternoon at the grill brew.
Jan 03, 2021
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.23/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Still have one of these left, should probably break it out next time someone else is over that can handle their shit. Brown burnt copper like pour. Beige head 1/5". Aroma went hard on the crystal malt and high alpha acid bittering hops.

Taste was that line between crystal malt 100 ibu triple ipa and American barleywine. Also seemed to have some of the earthier brown and red malt like vibes to it, or maybe that is just the thick maltings.

Taste was more of that thick toffee, tobacco and unsweetened caramel presence. High bittering still going on. Imperial grapefruit and caramel. Drinking this is a little bit like fighting the boozeweoisie. Got all the alcohol going for it, sting begats sting. Its weird, I can totally get down with Bigfoot, especially when fresh, but these other American barleywines make me wish they were a little more English or old ale. This is definitely a notch below the top 10 'Murican barleywines. It is affordable, but you don't see much of it anymore.
Apr 14, 2020
 
Rated: 3.4 by Dentist666 from Russian Federation

Jul 12, 2019
 
Rated: 4.13 by CisPiece88 from Nebraska

Jun 30, 2019
 
Rated: 3.96 by zotzot from Vermont

May 26, 2019
Photo of Radome
Rated by Radome from Florida

4.16/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Had on tap at the Ivywild School location in Dec 2018.
Jan 05, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by crobinso from Colorado

Dec 27, 2017
 
Rated: 3.99 by mjpolzin from Wisconsin

Nov 29, 2017
 
Rated: 4.26 by tylerstravis from Colorado

Nov 30, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by birchstick from Colorado

Aug 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.83 by Stillmakingnoise from Colorado

Apr 04, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by taospowder from New Mexico

Jan 27, 2015
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

2.43/5  rDev -37.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.5
12.6.14: First impressions below. Full review to follow.

2014 vintage 12 fl oz brown glass bottle with a branded pry-off pressure cap served into an Odell tulip. Expectations are average given the brewery.

Served cold and allowed to warm over the course of consumption.

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

A: 1 finger wide. Off white colour. Pretty average for a barleywine across the board.

Body colour is a depleted pale red. Not a solid or strong colour. Translucent and transparent, but not vibrant.

Appears well-carbonated. It's not a great looking barleywine, but there are no egregious issues.

Sm: Heavy on the fruity esters. Cherry dominates. Biscuit malt. Caramalt. Supple fruit. Fruitskin. Red apple skin. Syrupy and sweet - perhaps evoking malt extract. Red malts. Amber malts.

No yeast character, overt alcohol, or off-notes are detectable.

T: Fruitskin/apple skin, fruity ale esters, fruity hops, amber malts, red malts, malt extract, and dominant cherry. Candied sugar. Okay balance. Sweet - perhaps overly so. It's surprisingly fruit-forward for a barleywine, with virtually none of the notes I'd look for in paragon of the style: no vanilla, caramel, toffee, brown malts, dark malts, marshmallow, traces of oxidation, etc. I can't say I like it much, but it's not a poor beer. Largely uninspired. Shallow, to boot.

Mf: Smooth, wet, crisp, clean, full-bodied, lightly syrupy, thick, and sticky. Has a boozy warmth.

Dr: It's downable but forgettable. A pedestrian and shallow attempt at the style which lacks inspiration. In line with my memories of the other offerings I've had from Bristol - definitely below average. Aside from drinking the remainder of the four-pack, I wouldn't want to try this again.

D+

Age likely won't help it much.
Dec 07, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by lysergicdream from Colorado

Oct 17, 2014
Photo of BradC
Reviewed by BradC from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.4%
Pours a thick dark reddish brown. Bottle from 2009, about 5 years old. Not much aroma, maybe a sweet smell. Tastes sweet, a burnt raisin, toffee flavor, tobacco notes, just enough bitterness to balance it out. Very light carbonation and pretty easy drinking. All in all, held up well for bing 5 years old.
Oct 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Jasonclick from Florida

Jul 30, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by afsdan from Colorado

Apr 04, 2014
Photo of minterro
Reviewed by minterro from California

3.87/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
Bought at Little's Wine and Liquor store. Vintage 2012 store cellared (about a year and 3 months in the bottle). Poured into a snifter, paired with honey roasted peanuts.

A&S: Dark burgundy colored beer, almost opaque, no presence of carbonation or unfiltered elements. Off-white head appears in a thin layer when vigorously poured, dies very quickly. Spectacular aroma initially consisting of: tons of candy sugars, dried apricots, . No real sense of alcohol.

T&M: Upfront very sweet. Midway through I'm getting pipe tobacco and the sweet become a bit more bitter. From the aroma and initial taste I figured the finish to be sweet, however surprising, there is a mild bitter/earthy hop tone to the finish. Ridiculously undrinkability even without considering it's > 11% ABV. On the flat side in carbonation. Heavy body but not chewy.

Overall: Good beer for the price, sitting at sub 4 bucks a bottle it is a pretty good barleywine for it's price. This one sitting at plus 1 year was surprisingly a bit too mellow, would like to see what it is like at 6 months.
Feb 25, 2014
Old No. 23 from Bristol Brewing Company
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 80 ratings