Sub-Zero
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

Pours a great burnished copper to brown with great lacing, though little head. Huge deep sweet malty scent with slight tobacco aromas. Excellent flavor with a thick malt sweetness, nice caramel tones, some toffee and smokiness. Goes down great for a 9.8% brew. Fantastic strong ale.

I had this one on cask at the Rock Bottom in Orland Park on 12/04/2008.

A= This ale poured a very dark black/brown color with a brilliant 2" dense tan head. The beer was dark enough that no light could pass through. Pretty good web of lacing down my glass.

S= The aromas were of dark malts, raisins, earthy hops, and a decent array of spices. Surprisingly, the spices were more notable in the cask version of this beer than they were in the draft version.

T= Very even-handed and balanced. Sweet chewy malts up front followed by a slight roast-y note and some earthy hops. The spice kicks in near the finish and adds quite a bit of depth and character. Finish was long and smooth with a nice earth and spice aftertaste.

MF= Medium bodied with a low (cask) carbonation level. Soft mouthfeel with a slight slickness on the tongue. Nice.

D= A very solid cask offering from brewer Iain Wilson. Quite drinkable, very sessionable, and highly recommended.

Appearance - darn near opaque, just a hint of ruby/brown around the edges. A thin cap & ring up top.

Aroma - lots and lots of roasty aroma, sweet caramel too, and some milder bread/grain. Good persistence.

Taste - big roasted malt flavor dominates. The balance is well to the sweet side. Some tempered chocolate comes through on the swallow, where the taste really starts to pick up. Heavily roasted flavors come through, even a moderate char taste acting in concert with or in place of any hop presence, I can't really tell. Finishes with a dry, chocolate flavor and a smooth, warming alcohol undercurrent. Very flavorful and well-timed release considering the extreme cold (coldest February on record) and winter weather we've had the past few weeks. Ice masses forming on the Ohio River even, oh my!

Mouthfeel - it has a nice blanketing feel, a moderate heaviness that coats without being a filler. Full body matches the flavor perfectly.

Drinkability - an outstanding porter IMO. If you're a porter fan, bring your growler.

Tasted at RB's Sub Zero Barleywine party. Releases a nice malty smell in the taster, with a trace of foam still clinging. Sips like a syrup, with a pleasant note of fruitiness, oranges mostly. After the 3rd or 4th taster I get a few licorice notes, too. No harsh alcohol as with some "young" barley wines. Only problem is it's in a category where there are some awesome brews, so it suffers only in comparison.

I had this at the Chicago Rock Bottom with dinner (meatloaf).

The beer came in a smallish snifter and had a nice thick tan billowy head. The beer is a red tinged brown that is transparent.

The nose on this barley wine is huge. Tremendously floral hops dominate with some sweet smelling toffee, vanilla, and cinnamon in the background. The alcohol is also noticeable at 11.5%.

The taste is a medium thick slipperiness that is all about sweetness and hops. Sweet port-like notes, hops, and sweet malt slide down easily.

For me, one beer this huge is enough for the evening. It is easy to drink one, but more than that and my palate gets too worn out from a huge beer like this. I'll be back for it next week during the Real Ale Fest.

Sampled during the AHA Banquet at the Rock Bottom - Chicago

This is the brewer's Bourbon barrel aged Barleywine.

Oh my.. this is a ruby brown beer with a deep haze and virtually no head.

Aroma is spicy with cinnamon, ginger and allspice. Vanilla oak mingles with a slight sour malt edge.

The flavor is pure liquid brown sugar and caramel melting across the tonque. Vanilla oak accentuates the caramel effects of the malt.

Finish is thick and warm with the cutting power of alcohol running through to the finish and your throat.

Outstanding!