Bear’s DeadicAle
Iron Springs Pub & Brewery

 

 

On-tap at Beer Revolution, in Oakland.

Without proper lighting it might look murky, but on this sunny July afternoon it looks quite neat in its little snifter. An almost cranberry coloured beer, it's perfectly clear yet too dark to see through. Shades of red can wash up over your fingers. It has a lovely head with cobweb-like lacing that decorates the glass like a haunted house.

The aroma is sticky-sweet yet clean, like that of a higher gravity German doppelbock. It has lots of prune and raisin and all the other dried fruity notes that come equipped in a Madeira-like richness. (The average person could easily mistake this for a tawny port.) There's also tobacco leaf notes and a bit of musty character. It certainly smells the part.

The beer really does have the cleanness of a bock; its flavour is just straight up maltiness and, in small part, faint fruity esters. This is both advantage and disadvantage (as discussed below). The dark, toasty malts end up tasting of burnt walnuts and roasted almond and pecan. The finish, absent of bitter hops, ends up tasting sugary-sweet like dried fruits.

A very easy drinker for its style, the goblet I had left plenty of room in my belly (and less, but still enough, room in my head) to have another. It is a very mellow barleywine, even by English standards and especially when considering its true strength. This American brewer has done well to stick to tradition and not get carried away with hops as has become customary.

In the stomping world of American barleywines, this one tip toes. Bear’s DeadicAle is much like a higher-grade commercial brand bourbon: it's acceptable, and does the trick alright, but doesn't offer the upper-tier of gratification you might be looking for when hankering for a stronger tipple. Perhaps not a long-term tenet for the cellar, but certainly a worthy guest.