Old Musty Barleywine
C.H. Evans Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured on-tap at the Pump Station, the beer was served in a snifter. The beer is a light orange-amber coloring with a filmy, off-white head that is tall and light. The beer is hazy, and very "full" looking. Nose of rich sweetness, with caramel, plum, and apple sweetness in the forefront. Flavors of rich toffee and old world fruit, with plum and raisin readily identifiable. Touch of roast and booze throughout. Very rich, with a smooth, full body. Roasty and sweet aftertaste, with a bitterness to clean the palate. Smooth and heavy finish.

 

 

 

 

 

A-Cloudy with a deep red hue.

S-Some hops but has loads of fruit flavors.

T-Extremely sweet, the fruit flavors are amazing here and ends with some bitterness. A well balanced brew.

M-Medium bodied, little to no carbonation and syrupy.

D-Alcohol seems present, so although it may be tasty it not overly drinkable.

A - Pours a dark brown color with just a hint of read around the edges with a finger of off-white head. The head reduced down to a ring around the glass lingering nicely.

S - Aroma has some nice sweet lightly toasted caramel malts. There is also some dark fruit and some grassy hops mixed in.

T - Starts off with some grassy hops and roasted sweet caramel malts. Also a bit of dark fruit . Through the middle, some more dark fruit sweetness (lots of raisins) come through. The finish is a mix of some toffee malt sweetness and some dark fruit sweetness, a touch of hops, and bit of booze that linger nicely.

M - Medium-full bodied with a moderate-low amount of carbonation. A touch syrupy and the finish is a bit resiny, but very nice.

D - Very nice and drinkable. Very nicely balanced and very tasty. The hop flavor added in is very nice and the finish is very tasty.

I have no idea why Alex thought it would be good to open this after we had drank so much a couple of us had trouble walking.

A - Small head on this beer that had some random stick on it. A brownish colored beer.

S - A lot of caramel on this one, smells a bit quadlike with the amount of fruit notes I get. Good brown sugar with a hop profile that suggests barleywine more than just saying it.

T - A lot of caramel and dark fruits, it's kind of like a slightly rougher, hopped up quad. Drinks quite smoothly and easy for the ABV that it has.

M - Medium bodied with lower carbonation.

D - I threw this stuff back like water, but it was likely because I was sloshed. For what it is though, seemed quite high on the drinkability scale, and a solid beer, although not exactly what I would want from my barleywines. Perhaps I should adjust my expectations.

Thanks to aerozeppl for hooking me up with this one. It's been on my wants for a long time. Apparently the 2011 batch is 9.2%

A - Pours with a finger of white foam that features good retention, but minimal lacing, and eventually settles to a thick collar. The body is largely transparent dark burgundy that has a nice glow to it.

S - The smell is not exactly what I expected from American barleywine. In some ways it has far more in common with the Traquair 2020 than it does with something like Bigfoot. It has a lot of English/Scottish character with flavors like caramelized sugar, treacle, toffee, molasses, nuts, and cherries. The nose doesn't pop, although it gets more weighty as the beer warms up. There is some earthy hop character that keeps things from being cloying and does actually impart a slightly musty character. Also, a slight hint of alcohol is noticeable.

T - I like the taste a tad more, as it imparts a nice note of citrus hops and milk chocolate on top of the aforementioned caramel, burnt sugars, and fruitiness. The finish is largely chocolate-covered raisins mixed with a moderate amount of hop bitterness. Alcohol is a little less noticeable on the palate.

M - Medium-full bodied, with wonderful creamy viscosity, and medium-low carbonation. Sticky finish, but with a little smoked character to it. There's some warming after 10oz or so, but otherwise alcohol is quite well-hidden

D - We drank half of this during some late-night debauchery post-Night of the Living Ales, and after a monster hangover I was a little apprehensive about tackling the rest of the growler on my own. However, after two glasses I'm glad I mustered up enough courage to do so. This is definitely a very different barleywine, but it grew on me. It also drinks much easier than the listed ABV.

A solid brew from a brewery I know almost nothing about. I'll have to drop in next time I'm passing through upstate New York.

2009 Batch. The brewer George threw in 20 pounds of raisins in this batch to mix things up.

A: Nice deep brown that has red highlights when held up to the light. A good amount of brownish head for a growler pour. Some spotty lacing.

S: Just a ton of dark fruit with raisins leading the way. A slight hint of Belgian yeast as well but I don't think they use any. A ton of malt with hints of toffee and caramel. The raisins really lead the way but this is not a one trick pony.

T: Damn this is good. Tons of sweetness and malt. Dark fruit thrown in there for good measure. Just a wonderful beer all around.

M: Medium to heavy body. Not quite the tongue beating some barley wines are but this beer demands you take your time with it.

D: We are probably not going to finish the growler tonight. In fact I know we are not. Have I finished one in a sitting? (7 hours long) Yes. I look forward to this beers release every year and this years batch is stellar. We also recently had a year old keg and I thought it lost something in that it was too drinkable. This is one of the most drinkable barley wines you could ever wish for. Excellent.

I received this from Aerozeppl in the Growling at the Moon Bif, Thanks for the opportunity to try this one.

Pours a solid dark brown almost black, some ruby highlights when held to the light. Small off white head, looks more like a porter than a barleywine. Aroma is chocolate syrup, molasses, and a small bit of floral hops. Taste follows the smell but adds a small amount of alcohol as it warms up. Mouthfeel is creamy, but a little thin. Overall a great brew, not what I was thinking of when I think of barleywine, but a damn fine brew nonetheless. At 9.5% alcohol this one really snuck up on me.

This beer was served to me in a snifter. I had it during my meal @ lunch, which as an open-faced turkey sandwich.

A - Dark, like molasses, with a moderate white head. Excellent head retention.

S - Caramel, roasty, slightly nutty with a touch of hops. The hop smell was detectable but not super apparent, indicating the beer will have a sweet taste.

T - Malty, sweet, fruity, caramel, with hints of chocolate and toffee. Fruity flavors reminiscent of plums, finishing with citrus (grapefruit).

M - Very nice. Full bodied and flavored. Malty and big with a slight alcohol burn, but finishing clean.

D - Enjoyable and delicious. This was excellent and reminiscent of the style.