Madeira Barrel-Aged American Barleywine
Cigar City Brewing

 

 

Poured a brown body with minimal head and little lace patches. The aroma has touches of wood and dark fruits and is mostly reminiscent of wine (which is expected) with hints of a sweet/thick maltiness. The beer has a taste similar of red wine with a distinct woodiness, but manages to get in a sweet caramel or toffee malty sweetness as well that you would probably find in a barleywine. Beer's ABV is mostly hidden but a tad noticeable on finish and the beer has a great balance between dark fruit/wine and malt flavors with a complementary booziness.

Wine barrel aging adds a pungent, earthy tone up front, and a sour, vinous note in the middle. Quite hoppy. Outside of the wine accent, it's a fairly straightforward American Barleywine, with notes of caramel, grains, leather, bread, and bark.

 

Had on tap. Chestnut brown semi-opaque body with a ring of oatmeal colored foam. Smell has robust wood, grape, barley, toffee, fig, and brown sugar. Taste is very clean with the flavors balancing well and coming through purely: robust wood, dark red wine, dark fruit, barley, slight sassafras, big toffee, and hints of dry vanilla. Feel is light but not too thin, chewy but not viscous, very clean and smooth

This one pours a murky brown color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This one smells like red grape jam, port, black cherry, toffee, boozy caramel, and Madeira.

The barrel works well here, splashing all sort of dark fruit notes and some port/Madeira all over the creamy caramel and toffee notes. There's also a bit of chocolate, and a touch of oak.

This is medium bodied, and not really boozy at all, with a decent level of drinkability for the style.

Cigar City sneakily makes really good barleywine and strong ales - this is a fun barleywine to try for sure.

CK

Thanks to A.D. for selling me this 500ML bottle at cost. I missed out on the release but swam in the stuff on tap after Huna Day 2018. Going back wading once again.

The pour is stirred-up-lake-bottom brown with a touch of red; spare tan tire ring around the edge of the glass. The nose takes a good 25 minutes to open up into brown sugar soaked grapes, with a side of plum (or maybe cherry). Good.

Cigar City Barleywine – Madeira Barrel Aged reminds me of stomping grapes back in my foolish youth acting out at the Renaissance Festival…among other fond memories of long, wasted weekends (sometimes literally). Oh, & the beer is boozy & fruity, if you want a two word review, but then why would you even look at one of mine? Lovely madeira/port taste has big hands all over this beer, which might consist of a big wallop of brown sugar, toffee, with the barrel contributing vanilla & wood. Ends boozy, with a muddied, dry mouthfeel. I should, perhaps, have saved this bottle to share with my better half.

It’s no Church on a Hill or Leon, but really, what is? Lovely use of madeira barrels over what tastes like a nice base beer results in an excellent brew. I wouldn’t expect any less from my favorite brewery.

Dark prune juice brownish-red with a creamy thin tan ring.

Aroma has a really sticky sweet yet mature approach, giving off fig and prune, toffee and caramel, and a little charred oak.

Plenty of dark fruits bombards the tongue, as well as a tangy woodiness and a fruity spirit. This is really nutty and unique, finishing with a bit of coconut.

Sticky and almost slimy at times, the moderate body is still somehow smooth, with a more soft carbonation than the Storming next to it, but a very woody, dry finish.

Interesting, but definitely not the return of Trousseau like I thought it'd be--a bit overly woody and sweet.