XS Old Crustacean
Rogue Ales

2013 vintage. Poured from a beautiful ceramic bomber into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Cloudy copper pour with 1.5 fingers of off-white head. Nice ring of lacing.

S: Hops and malts. Big and boozy.

T.F: Just like it smells. Semi-sweet toasted malts/grains. Loads of pine... caramel and citrus. Earth and spice... more citrus and fruit. Boozy and warming. Medium bodied... moderate bitterness. More malts/hops to finish.

O: A big but fairly drinkable American Barleywine. Lots going on, and for being nearly 7 years in the cellar this one held up quite well. Bonus points for such a gorgeous bottle.

 

It smells malty, funky and strong.

Bitterness hits you first and then a ton of complex malts and yeasts.

Thin bodied with a long fruity bitter finish.

Really good 4.8 out of 6

A little too hoppy for my taste but a good American style Barleywine.

Bottle, under some obscure Japanese name, sampled at HaandBryggeriet, Drammen, Norway. Deep copper colour, decent beige head. Intense aroma and flavour dominated by caramel malts, plenty of sweetness. Full and rich mouthfeel. Pretty impressive, I guess, if you’re on the caramel wagon.

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a reddish-brown, darker and leaning more towards the brown. Head is creamy, pillowy, leaves behind some nice lacing. Smell is molasses and pine, fairly faint. Taste is bready malt, molasses, pine, caramel, and dark fruits. Medium body. Really benefited from warming up, at first the bitterness from the hops was quite powerful, warmth allows for the softer fruit and sweet notes to come out.

 

 

L: Dark golden amber colors.
S: Strong barley wine flavors.
T: Strong ride of strange dark flavors.
F: Very heavy and dark.
O: A very dark beer unlike any other that exists.

2016 bottling

Appearance: Pours a tawny burnt orange color with a rocky two finger ecru head; good retention and plenty of lacing action

Smell: Resinous pine tones abound, with notes of char, molasses, raisin, cherry and cocoa

Taste: Resinous, with cocoa and molasses forward; the raisin, cherry add a fruity dimension; through the middle, an earthy/piney bitterness builds powerfully as the 105 IBUs take over and dominate the finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation

Overall: Not in the very top echelon of barleywines I have tasted but not far off, either

 

A rich amber mahoganny hue which captures an array of glowing autumnal radiance. There's a thin veil of pillowy lace that rests atop. Has a strong note of diesel on first whiff which develops into a burnt caramel sweetness. The sip is reminiscent of an oaked cognac with flavors that dance on your palate.

This is the 2013, in my cellar for five years. And it is sublime, a really heavenly beer drinking experience. It is only fair to say though that after five years in the bottle it’s not very beautiful. It does have a nice head, even after this long, and a nice orangish barleywine glow, but it’s a bit muddy at this point. But the aroma is a different matter entirely, one of the most wonderful I have ever encountered. Sharp with hops - again, even after five years - rich with honeyed malts, it is so powerful that is just explodes into my olfactory senses. And the taste is just as amazing, so complex that it is different with every sip. There are berries and caramel and smoke and brown sugar and tart apples and much, much more. The feel is excellent, with balanced body and carbonation. Fabulous, one of the best beers to ever come out of my cellar.
Update: tonight I cracked another that had been in the cellar for two years (though dated 2015). It’s excellent, but not nearly the equal of the 5-year-old. I’d give it somewhere in the 4.3 range.

 

 

 

 

 

2013 edition

L: pours clear bronze color with a finger of off white head
S: sweet caramel and raisins with slight bitterness
T: big bitterness throughout, a touch a caramel sweetness.
F: thick, but with lots of carbonation and a dry finish.

Pours a rusty brownish amber color, the malty tones, the 1/4" light tan head, more off white I guess. Aroma of booziness and caramel maltiness.

Taste drops a substantial amount of that foresty pacnw Chinook hop when you have this one fresh. This one transforms similar to Bigfoot when aged. Sticky caramel malt and maris otter draped all over this one. While it is plenty warming, the alcohol doesn't stay too heavy for too long. A very slight impression of wood from the malt tone. I figure this one clocks in around 90 ibu. This one drinks somewhere between old school barleywines like Old Foghorn and Bigfoot. Not as sweet as the Anchor, but not as hoppy as the Sierra Nevada.

L - murky brown with some clarity near the bottom and around the edges with a large tan head that sticks around and leaves a decent amount lacing behind.
S - Sweet bready malt with bitter hops - otherwise a really faint smell.
T - Sweet bready malt and barely up front followed behind by bitter hops. Intermixed are notes of caramel and dried fruits as well as some citrus.
F - Medium to full bodied with a light to medium amount of carbonation. Somewhat chewy.
O - A really nice standard barelywine - everything seems pretty spot on and done very well with nothing crazy or over the top.

 

Served in a snifter glass from a fresh 2017 bottle.

Appearance: dark amber color coming off with medium bubbles creating an orange tinted white head rising just about two finger's length off the body. Lacing not sticky at all, drops quickly after the first sip.

Smell: light malt scent not exactly super strong.

Taste: Softly bitter and touch of honey consisting of floral and citrus. Hybrid brew which crosses the plane of IPA and barley wine.

Mouth: sticky brew which I'm painting with chips and you feel that after taste just linger.

Overall: Very good brew but deceiving in regards to the name. Not exactly barleywine, but still a pretty good beer. Always in a glass and I say if you see it on a shelf grab it. Salud!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cellared 5 years. Poured into a tulip.

Appearance: dark chestnut-brown with considerable haze. The head is a light tan ½ finger with good retention.

Aroma: sweet malt with hints of molasses and raisins. Alcohol is not readily detectable but you know its there.

Flavor: sweet – but not overly so, with molasses and raisins as in the nose. Alcohol is present, but it is more in the background.

Mouthfeel: medium-medium

Overall: this was enjoyable. A quality barleywine but not the best – really middle of the pack. I wouldn’t buy this again. It is good, but I’d prefer trying other breweries’ barleywines before returning to this one.