Slobberknocker
Capitol City Brewing Company

Bright crimson, near amber coloration, brief-to-non-existent head, and now, the aroma, sweet, brandyish, cherries, other fruits, tropicals, and more, ...I like it already, for sure. Very bright and fruity, niceness.
Taste: yum, very smooth, but full and fierce on the palate, bold and bright, yum again, and it's not just the booze talking.
Big and whoooo, this is serious stuff!
Oh, a very nice beer, the body is full, the finish is long and fruity,the taste is ..just delicious...
I like this barleywine, very much...so tasty, and oh, so rich...this is a hell of a nice barleywine...wow, these guys have cooked up something good!

Appearance – This one poured a dirty, pond scum brown with no head. Now, that might night sound too pretty, but for a high-ABV Barley Wine it’s not bad.

Smell – This is a big BW, even by BW standards. The nose is raw wine, sugar (not a lot of sugar like some) with little hop balance and a small but noticeable hint of alcohol.

Taste – The taste brings out more of the sugars and alcohol. This has a little late harvest Gewürztraminer (sp?) flavor to it. The sweetness is pure, like cane sugar, and very winey like a white dessert wine. There may be a dull thud or two of hops but mostly this is a Barley Wine that’s heavy on the white wine flavors.

The alcohol, on the other hand, is like an Eisbock. It makes no excuses for its presence and adds to the overall flavor of the BW. This is a big ‘un.

Mouthfeel – Yes, it’s flat. If you don’t like flat Barley Wine then drop an Alka-Seltzer in it. I can do with flat BWs if they are big in flavor and strong in alcohol content.

And, this is that. This is a sipping drink for sure. It is not for the faint of heart. This is almost full in the body and comes with a sharp sting in the mouth. If you enjoy hard alcohol you’ll appreciate the mouthfeel of this one.

Drinkability – If you fancy Michelob Ultra or even a nice Cab or Zin, this is not for you. This is for the person that likes mixed drinks but wants something really nice. Or, this is a good choice if you want to kick that boilermaker habit.

Comments – Fun, fun, fun. It’s not often you get Barley Wines on-tap (this is actually my first). It came to me via growler from garthwaite, who made an excellent choice with this offering fro Capital Brewing.

Served on tap in a brandy snifter. Seemed to be cellarish in temp.

Appearance: Cloudy orange brown with a modest eggshell colored head, which goes to a ring as expected and left decent flecks of foam as the beer was consumed.

Smell: Powerful grapefruit hop aromas. Toffee and marmalade malty goodness.

Taste: Sharply bittersweet caramel malts and grapefruity hopes in balance. Pleasant peppery bite from the alcohol and hops on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Thick and viscous with lingering hop aftertastes. Alcohol is well masked for a beer topping 11% ABV (I couldn't get an exact number).

Drinkability: Damn if this wasn't a fine barleywine. I was remined of Old Guardian and Old Horizontal (good company for any barleywine, IMHO). DC area BA's should get off their asses and try this stuff.

Other factoids: per the beer info sheet, this is an "American style barleywine" using Amarillo and Santium hops.