Devil's Milk Barleywine Style Ale | DuClaw Brewing Company
Brewed by:
DuClaw Brewing Company
Maryland, United States
duclaw.com
Style: American Barleywine
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 10.60%
Availability: Winter
Notes / Commercial Description:
Our award winning Barleywine will seduce you with its assertive hop bill (that changes each year to make each vintage unique), citrus flavors, and warming 10% ABV. Devil’s Milk is best served in a snifter to accommodate its ABV and allow complex flavors to emerge as it warms in your hands.
Added by farHillsBrewer on 11-02-2003
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 401 | Reviews: 132
Reviews by JWU:
More User Reviews:
4.35/5 rDev +14.2%
The beer comes in a rich orange color.
The aroma bursts of orange, fruity hop character, with a touch of dank and lots of sweetness.
The flavor follows with that Centennial quality up front of sweet orange marmalade. The sweetness in the front falls off quite well onto a Simcoe character of dank pine and green flavors. A really well balanced brew that does not taste like its ABV.
In general, I would categorize this as a really well made triple IPA.
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The beer comes in a rich orange color.
The aroma bursts of orange, fruity hop character, with a touch of dank and lots of sweetness.
The flavor follows with that Centennial quality up front of sweet orange marmalade. The sweetness in the front falls off quite well onto a Simcoe character of dank pine and green flavors. A really well balanced brew that does not taste like its ABV.
In general, I would categorize this as a really well made triple IPA.
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3.9/5 rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
64oz Growler from Arundel Mills Mall DuClaw
Pours a barely cloudy light red copper. Little tannish head quickly disolves into little lacing.
Smells very hoppy, sweet fruit, maybe malt and barley.
Pretty sweet initial which masks the hopness momentarly. Though somewhat masks it as I dont get much hops. Ends with a different sweet masking most of the alcohol. ABV masked very well.
Little syrupy for me. Good carbonation level with nice fireworks in my mouth. Smooth at the end. Good staying power, though sweetness from taste lasts a bit too long.
Im sad i gave a 3.5 on the drinkability. This is probably more my prefernce than anything, but it seemed just a little (tiny bit) too sweet syrupy for my taste with the style. While Im going to love the growler, for a beer that doesnt come in bombers, 64oz will be just a bit too much for 1 person over 2 days.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
64oz Growler from Arundel Mills Mall DuClaw
Pours a barely cloudy light red copper. Little tannish head quickly disolves into little lacing.
Smells very hoppy, sweet fruit, maybe malt and barley.
Pretty sweet initial which masks the hopness momentarly. Though somewhat masks it as I dont get much hops. Ends with a different sweet masking most of the alcohol. ABV masked very well.
Little syrupy for me. Good carbonation level with nice fireworks in my mouth. Smooth at the end. Good staying power, though sweetness from taste lasts a bit too long.
Im sad i gave a 3.5 on the drinkability. This is probably more my prefernce than anything, but it seemed just a little (tiny bit) too sweet syrupy for my taste with the style. While Im going to love the growler, for a beer that doesnt come in bombers, 64oz will be just a bit too much for 1 person over 2 days.
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4.22/5 rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.96/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.6/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Taste is big oily pine, light caramel, and earth. Alcohol comes out as the beer warms. An above average American Barleywine, but there are others in the style that I prefer.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Taste is big oily pine, light caramel, and earth. Alcohol comes out as the beer warms. An above average American Barleywine, but there are others in the style that I prefer.
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3.85/5 rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
A: Lighter and with more orange than most barleywines I've had, with a bit of haze. Head is fine and follows falls to a decent, if sparse, lacing.
S: Sweetness is forward, with some caramel and some black walnut.
T: Citrus is surprisingly strong here, with a sweet, pruney finish. There's a lot of boozy warmth, too. I would not be surprised if this had been marketed as an IPA.
M: Lighter than some barleywines, but still creamy.
D: Not necessarily my favorite style approach to a beer - the sweet and citrus combination doesn't "blend" very well - but this is more "sessionable" than most barleywines.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
A: Lighter and with more orange than most barleywines I've had, with a bit of haze. Head is fine and follows falls to a decent, if sparse, lacing.
S: Sweetness is forward, with some caramel and some black walnut.
T: Citrus is surprisingly strong here, with a sweet, pruney finish. There's a lot of boozy warmth, too. I would not be surprised if this had been marketed as an IPA.
M: Lighter than some barleywines, but still creamy.
D: Not necessarily my favorite style approach to a beer - the sweet and citrus combination doesn't "blend" very well - but this is more "sessionable" than most barleywines.
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3.81/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.96/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
12 oz bottle served in a Belgian snifter.
Pours with a clear copper-brown body topped by a thin, mostly short-lived head. Spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and boozy, with hints of dark fruits, apples and toffee.
Flavor. Similar to the aroma, with soft and dried fruits, faint hops and caramel. Modest complexity.
Overall: Smoother and, perhaps, better, than the bourbon barrel aged version (Hell on Wood).
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look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
12 oz bottle served in a Belgian snifter.
Pours with a clear copper-brown body topped by a thin, mostly short-lived head. Spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and boozy, with hints of dark fruits, apples and toffee.
Flavor. Similar to the aroma, with soft and dried fruits, faint hops and caramel. Modest complexity.
Overall: Smoother and, perhaps, better, than the bourbon barrel aged version (Hell on Wood).
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3.76/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.64/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Pours a ruddy amber with just a finger of head. The aroma is very hoppy. The taste reminds me a lot of bigfoot from Sierra Nevada. On the hoppy end of the spectrum as far as Barleywines go. Would be much easier to drink except for the tongue curling syrupy thickness. It's a good drinker, but the thickness forces me to treat this as a sipper. Probably would just get Bigfoot instead of this in the future.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Pours a ruddy amber with just a finger of head. The aroma is very hoppy. The taste reminds me a lot of bigfoot from Sierra Nevada. On the hoppy end of the spectrum as far as Barleywines go. Would be much easier to drink except for the tongue curling syrupy thickness. It's a good drinker, but the thickness forces me to treat this as a sipper. Probably would just get Bigfoot instead of this in the future.
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3.5/5 rDev -8.1%
I echo Dar482 sentiment a bit. It's a TIPA. Oddly balanced, not too malty, not too hoppy, I was initially confused, and then I remembered. It's DuClaw. Fun beer, but not usually great beer. Hwever, it might be someone's gateway into barleywine, and for that, DuClaw, I thank you.
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I echo Dar482 sentiment a bit. It's a TIPA. Oddly balanced, not too malty, not too hoppy, I was initially confused, and then I remembered. It's DuClaw. Fun beer, but not usually great beer. Hwever, it might be someone's gateway into barleywine, and for that, DuClaw, I thank you.
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3.89/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.25/5 rDev +11.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
3.09/5 rDev -18.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This year's Devil's Milk was a little bit disappointing, so I'll have to be sure to try it again next year! Its short head of creamy off-white foam receeds quickly (as might be expected considering its strength), but it still leaves some limited splashes of lace about the snifter. The hazy mahogany body appears darkish on the bar or table but reveals a glowing ring of orangeish gold at the rim as you raise the glass to your lips. The aroma offers some dried apricot and tart baking apples (acetaldehyde) along with a waft of alcohol over a limited amount of malt. The body is medium and it's soft in the mouth with a fine carbonation. Its flavor delivers a well-balanced combination of alcohol; bitterness; and straight-forward, just slightly caramel-touched malt. It finishes dry with some lingering malt, bitterness, and apple.
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look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This year's Devil's Milk was a little bit disappointing, so I'll have to be sure to try it again next year! Its short head of creamy off-white foam receeds quickly (as might be expected considering its strength), but it still leaves some limited splashes of lace about the snifter. The hazy mahogany body appears darkish on the bar or table but reveals a glowing ring of orangeish gold at the rim as you raise the glass to your lips. The aroma offers some dried apricot and tart baking apples (acetaldehyde) along with a waft of alcohol over a limited amount of malt. The body is medium and it's soft in the mouth with a fine carbonation. Its flavor delivers a well-balanced combination of alcohol; bitterness; and straight-forward, just slightly caramel-touched malt. It finishes dry with some lingering malt, bitterness, and apple.
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4.42/5 rDev +16%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured from the tap in Chester, VA.
Aroma- Has a nice malt, hops, barley and some fruit essence tossed in.
Appearance- A reddish copper color with a small tan head.
Taste- Has a sweet opening that brings along the barley and hops for the finish. Not bad
Palate- A heavy bodied brew with light carbonation. Has a great texture that is thick to creamy.
Overall- I enjoyed this beer, I would buy it the next time I see it on tap.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured from the tap in Chester, VA.
Aroma- Has a nice malt, hops, barley and some fruit essence tossed in.
Appearance- A reddish copper color with a small tan head.
Taste- Has a sweet opening that brings along the barley and hops for the finish. Not bad
Palate- A heavy bodied brew with light carbonation. Has a great texture that is thick to creamy.
Overall- I enjoyed this beer, I would buy it the next time I see it on tap.
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Devil's Milk Barleywine Style Ale from DuClaw Brewing Company
3.81
out of 5
based on 401 ratings.
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
12oz. bottle poured into a snifter.
A- A dark, cloudy amber. A little light for a barleywine. A thin offwhite head that dissipates quickly.
S- Some sweetness, perhaps a hint of dark fruit, and a bit wallop of woody, earthy hops.
T- Some dark sugar sweetness is quickly overshadowed by the sheer booziness of the brew, and a bit dose of earthy, woody hops that impart more bitterness than flavor. Kind of a mess.
M- light side of full. Heavy on the carbonation, this needs to back off. Alcohol burn, and lots of it.
O- Brews like this make you realize how well crafted something like SN Bigfoot is. This is a big, hot, boozy mess.
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