Bligh's Barleywine Ale
Dry Dock Brewing Co.

Lots of dried fruit vibes here, nectarines, dates, and raisins mostly with some apple and pear as well. Maybe even a little banana pudding in there. I also get plenty of toffee plus honey, woody whiskey, and light honey. It all comes together very nicely, thanks Dave! Very glad to have tried this.

 

Pours a muddy brown with a little fog to the transparency. Head is half a finger, at most, of khaki fizz. Aroma is toffee, fig, raisins, and molasses with toasty, caramely, bready malts for a bread pudding like nose. Some light bourbon at the back, but it's faint. Bourbon and malts come forward more as the beer warms. Flavor profile brings forward the nose, but a little more weak, at least initially. It hits notes of molasses, fig, and toffee with toasty, caramely, and bready malts. Bourbon starts to seep in as the beer warms. Mouth feel is medium-thin with a smooth effervescence that carries a very light silt through the middle. When the beer warms, it's medium-thick with a mor viscous consistency. Overall, some lovely bread pudding characteristics out front, and endearing qualities as the beer warms.

Served in a 15.5oz Speigalau tulip from a 22oz bottle. 2020 vintage.

2017 bottle. Tan khaki head. Caramel copper color.

Toffee, caramel, biscuit, dates, prunes, molasses, oak, vanilla, bourbon. Coconut. Smooth and warming. Full bodied and full of flavor. Complex, flavorful, traditional. Very well done.

 

22oz. capped bomber into a Brooklyn Brewery snifter. 2016 vintage.

At this point, there is no head with very little lace. Nose is brown sugar, caramel, dried dark fruit, and a mellow, slight booziness. Chewy and rich in the nose if that's possible. Beer opens raisin and toffee. I get hints of brown sugar, caramel, and anise in the middle with a brown sugar, booze and oak finish. More brown sugar and dried dark fruit in the finish and aftertaste. Delicious. Body is full with low carbonation. Rich, oily, and slick on the palate and goes down slightly boozy with a filmy aftertaste that lingers. Perfect for the style.

Not much of a looker but flavor and feel wise, this beer is perfect almost 5 years in. Well worth trying.

 

 

2013 Vintage
22oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours a dark amber color with a one-finger foamy off-white head that reduces to a ring around the glass

S- bold notes of caramel and toffee up front, along with earthy leather and tobacco. Dark fruit aromas of raisin, fig, date and sherry. Undertones of wet oak, dark bread & booze

T- sweet and malty notes of caramel toffee mix with dark fruit notes of raisin & fig. Mid-palate gives notes of fruit cake, sherry, brown sugar & molasses. The finish gives an earthy note of pipe tobacco, as well as some oaky bourbon that adds light hints of vanilla. Lingers of oak, caramel and dark fruits

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that turns into a creamy warming finish

O- this one has held up well, with only slight signs of oxidation. Caramel and dark fruits highlight, with a subtle but noticeable barrel note

Appearance - From the bottle, the beer poured a murky brown color with a slight head.

Smell - The nose was boozy with notes of sweet dark fruits.

Taste - my first imression was how smooth this barleywine is. Notes of raisins, booze, and tobacco doninate. In my 2013 bottle, there was a hint of oxidation. I will not count this against the overall score. A sweet after taste follows.

Mouthfeel - For a barrel aged barleywine, this is very smooth.

Overall - This is not a world changer, but it is a very good BA barleywine.

 

 

 

The beer is a murky brown color; it looks like cider. There is no head.
Toffee and dark fruit aroma. Strong alcohol.
Big hit of bourbon in the taste, followed by toffee and raisins.
A sipping beer. A little too much alcohol for me, but still enjoyable.

 

 

22 oz bottle, dated 2017. Pours hazy amber brown with a small off white head that quickly goes to a thin collar that leaves a little lacing.

The aroma is sweet caramel and chocolate malt and lots of dark fruit and booze with a little vanilla.

The flavor is sweet caramel malt and fruitcake with a little roast chocolate and a big slightly harsh boozy finish. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with very low carbonation.

Overall, a nice barleywine, but a bit too sweet and boozy for me.

2016 version, 10.5% ABV

Pours a deep, copper-red color; head is fizzy and nearly disappears within a minute. Dense aroma of caramel and dried dark fruits; highly toasted bread. Toasted grain flavors; brown sugar and toffee; caramel; a fine boozy taste sneaks in at the finish, whiskey and wood. Heavy body; warm and velvety; lots of residual sugars delivering a hefty body; some dryness counteracting the sweetness.

I understand that high ABV beers many times don't have much head retention, but a beer without a sudsy head is damn near naked and unappealing. Ah, but start to take in the aroma, flavor and mouthfeel, and this particular beer starts to come around. It is warm and comforting, and very appealing for the style.

 

Some friends and I broke open a 2011 aged bottle of this, and it was damn good. I haven't had much barleywine in the past, but I'd gladly go back for more. Strong but not overpowering, a bit on the sweet side due to the bottle aging, and definitely worthy of that year's 11% ABV. Quite a nice bottle.