Isle Of Pines Barley Wine
Flying Goose Brew Pub & Grille

Completely hazed over reddish amber, decent head retention. Smells of coarse grain and lots of butter. Very odd grape flavor ... similar to a grape candy. Hint of warming alcohol comes though the off musty yeast. Malt character is a bit bland for such a big beer. A tad oxidized and a bit sour in the end.

From an undated 16 fl. oz. can that was sampled June 29, 2023.

The appearance is a reddish-amber or maybe a little orange in the correct lighting with a notable off-white head that diminishes to a ring.

The aroma is strong with a toasted malt character and pine but I also pick an orange peel or cherries fruitiness. The alcohol can be ascertained but not overwhelming.

The mouthfeel is high medium to full.

The taste is sweet with toffee characters as well as a fruitiness ala the orange peel I mentioned. There is also a pine essence to the flavor. The alcohol is more noticeable in the taste. Warming.

Poured into a Flying Goose tulip, the appearance was a ruddy dark brown color with a thin cap of a white foamy head. Modest concave lace.
The aroma kept a stronger caramel malty tone to it than other English barleywines. Dry roasted chestnuts, mild earth, sweet side of tobacco.
The flavor was moderately sweet with a strong presence of a roasty nutty to tobacco and earthy character. Caramel slick aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a sly sipping quality about it. Carbonation felt like it was starting to fall off a bit. ABV felt a bit below what was projected. Some stickiness, not cloying.
Overall, not an American barleywine, as the hops did not shine as expected. But this is a nice English Barleywine I'd be willing to come back to.

11/26/17
Glad I gave Flying Goose another shot. A well balanced barleywine that scales on the side of hoppy. All the caramel goodness without the sicky sweetness.
A new favorite!

 

Tap at Cask and Vine
Deep copper with a good sized bubbly head. Big caramel and toffee with bits of earthy spice to counter. Great sipper that disappeared too quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

Off the tap this American style barleywine was a dark amber/garnet color with a khaki skim for a head. The retention of the collar was pretty good but the lacing a bit spotty. The aroma was sweet and pleasant, caramel malt, pineapple, mango, citrus and some soft musty notes. The flavors started with lots of citrus, orange, tangerine and grapefruit, followed by strong piney hops in the middle. Towards the end I tasted the caramel malt and pale malt that offered some balance before the alcohol and more citrus rind both provided a bitter finish. For 12% (as it was listed 02/09/09) I thought the alcohol was rather well hidden but it leaned so heavily on the hops it reminded me more of a double IPA than a barleywine. The body was medium, the mouthfeel slightly slick (the hops again) and a little watery, and the carbonation light. Rather acidic and unusual for the style but the aroma and flavors were complex.

Re-review of a 22oz bottle from 08AUG20...

Had a cloudy but rich chestnut color. Tan head, light, mostly a rim-job, with light lace. Toffee and caramel in the nose with some mild citrus. Medium-bodied and fairly smooth.

Flavor had caramel, toffee, and some brown bread and brown sugar. Nice malts; a bit earthy with some resiny, piney action in the finish. Better than what I had 14 years ago.... Prosit!

3.96/5 rDev +17.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

*** *** ***

Original review from 18FEB06:
Stopped by here with Alewife and daughter #1, Caitlin, after an admissions visit to New England College today....

Opted to try this barley, now listed at 11%. Served, oddly, in a fluted, pilsner type glass, at about 12oz. Had a rich, slightly cloudy chestnut hue, topped by a soft, creamy tan head which lasted very well and laced up the glass nicely. Very light aromas....very light... some sweetness perhaps, and a hint of citrus, but not exactly...
Bier was very smooth on the palate, but somewhat thin, unfortunately....

A bit of light sweetness, like brown sugar, hits the tongue.... not overly malty in general, though, even after warming a bit. Hops are more evident, and are fruity, yet not really citrussy... it does have a resiny/piney aspect, yet no particular hop characteristic stands out. And the abv doesn't show it's head at all, to me. A bit above average, but not a keeper.

Prosit!!

overall: 3.6
appearance: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | mouthfeel: 3.5 | drinkability: 3.5

884

Nice complex amber-orange color with a reddish-brown haze. Generous off-white head procures ample lacing. Gentle citrus hops are the first to catch the attention. They throne above a sufficient earthy and grapey maltiness, leading the aromatics with citrusy, mostly pineapple flavours. Pleasant palate, very very fruity, citrusy, earthy. Tasty stuff for sure and well balanced at that. Definitely not mindbending, but this is indeed pretty good stuff if not worth driving hundreds of miles. Medium body, slightly creamy texture, moderately carbonated. Well contained alcohol. Probably my favourite out of the 17 beers available at Flying Goose that day.

Served in a 12 oz glass in the cozy Four Corners pub.
Hazy,orange/amber in color with decent head.
Pungent in the nose,sour and citrus.
Hop bitterness overpowered by a lactic bite.
Definate off flavors,cherry cough drops and reminiscent of fermented orange juice.
Lingering lactic finish,reminds me how important it is to clean your tap lines or kegs.
I've had this beer a few times before and enjoyed it quite a bit, although a little on the smallish side by todays Barleywine standards-

On tap at the brewpub.

Poured a very hazy amber with bright orange hues. Decent head retention. Dirty yeast aromas, loads of unpleasant diacetyl. Mouthfeel is quite light for the style, but smooth. Light candy like sweetness with caramel undertones and a thick and slick buttery flavor that coats the palate. Musty afters, dirty feel on the palate; hard to shake. Slight warming, but the 9%+ alcohol doesn't make itself known.

A very pour example of the style. Diacetyl is overwhelming.