Barleywine
Starr Hill Brewery

 

 

 

Not sure if reviewing correct beer or they came out with a new version, but had this beer on tap at small pizza place that could very well have an older keg sitting around. Poured a clearish auburn with good head and lace. Bits of hops are present as are some malts, but everythign is a bit subdued. Not a bad beer but a slightly offkilter barleywine as the hops are sharp, almost bitter, and while I can get the citric and grape flavors from the juicy hops they overpower the bready, caramel and sweet malts in the beer. The alcohol slightly bleeds in the finish as well so it can a harsh sipper at times. A good beer that I took time with but not sure if I'd bother with it again.

A: a very nice, orange red and peachy brew with a slight ring of head around the edge. Very little lacing but nice color.

S: licorice and sweet flowers, like a lily of the valley scent and maybe chamomile, and lilies in general. Also slight caramel and brown sugar. Really quite pleasant.

T: heavy licorice, and a slight black pepper taste. A little spicy/peppery--actually, slight more cajun that black pepper--somewhat like jalapenos, actually.

M: not bad, decent carbonation, unfortunately the taste (particularly the aftertaste) has such peppery spice that there's not much the mouthfeel can do for this one.

D: not all that drinkable, but not terrible. The hotness of the combined pepper and alcohol cuts down on it quite a bit.

Starr Hill Barleywine, on tap at Beer Run. Served in a 10 oz. snifter.

Appearance: Arrives a dull brownish red topped by a half finger of dull white head. Can't tell if this one contains any carbonation, but the most noteworthy thing here is the lacing - it's great for a beer of this abv%, with the head leaving amazing curtains and a rain of dripping lace stalactite as it recedes.

Aroma: Juicy and sweet, surprisingly, and sort of pithy in hits hop aroma, sort of like straight, pulp-ified lemon or orange juice (perhaps more ruby red grapefruit). What's offputting is the mild to moderate heat that's apparent even in the aroma while this one's still moderately chilled.

Taste: That same pithy citrus note is dominant again, though it's accompanied by a few more complexities this time - moderate bitterness, some nice piney overtones. The malt backbone is solid if not overly complex, showcasing some caramel and dry roasty notes. The same heat mentioned above is still apparent though a little less prominent this time.

Mouthfeel: Good, well-integrated effervescence in a moderate body, smooth and very slick from the hop addition, but still nonetheless crisp. Downside is - again - the prickle from the heat.

Drinkability: 10.8%? Pretty intense, particularly for a brewery not known for its higher-abv% offerings. And it shows here - the heat is apparent in all aspects of this beer, except for the appearance (where the lacing manages to hold its own). Nonetheless, I found this beer reasonably enjoyable, as there were enough other complexities to overtake a lot of the offputting aspects. Is it a great beer? No. Does it have room for improvement? Definitely. Would I be willing to try it again with such improvements? Absolutely. A good start to what I hope is a more experimental, groundbreaking path for Starr Hill.