Raspberry Centurion Barleywine Ale
Golden City Brewery

On tap at the brewery. They ran out of the IPA, so they tapped a keg of this...the server told me that they don't usually put the barleywine(s) on draft, so I felt pretty lucky to get a go at this brew.

A: Hazy and amber with an off-white head that dissipates to a ring.

S: Good mix of fruitiness that lightens the typically malty impression of an English barleywine. There's no hop presence, but given the raspberry 'spiciness' that seems just right.

T: I love the syrupy sweetness of the regular Centurion. The raspberry flavors matches the underlying base beer perfeclty, creating a well-balanced mix of sweet and sour in this beer. There's not much in the way of typical "American" barley wine flavors, but this is a very enjoyable strong, fruit beer.

M: Heavy, yet refreshing.

D: This is a sipping brew...as one would expect.

Overall, this seems like a potential step forward in the development of new beer styles. This is the closest Britain (or English-inspired brewers) will ever get to a Flemish red. Highly recommended.

Reviewed from really old notes of a growler pour. My understanding is that the raspberry verion of this beer was produced a couple of years ago. It was way too raspberry, so they mix that stuff with fresh Centurion each year in a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio to get the offerings available on occassion. Pours a thin layer of light brown head over a cloudy brown liquid. Redish tinge when held to light. Smells raspberry. Seed character is stronger than fruit. Woody, almost.

Tastes raspberry fruit with lemon character. Seedy/woody with an underlying caramel. Dry finish with a bit of alcohol sting and munich maltiness. A touch of sherry-like oxidation mixes with sour and sharp carb-sting on the tongue. Tart, but not in a way that too much fruity offers. Needs some redeeming esters to counter this. Not much head, but the carb is cola-like stingy. Md body washes away, yet somehow leaves a memory of stickiness.

Deep Brown.

Scents of wood, berries (mainly raspberries), sweet dark malts and caramel.

Cloying, sticky raspberry and malty sweetness combine with a major lack of carbonation and a very thin body to achieve complete unbalane in my opinion. Too fruity, too sour and too sweet.