Territorial Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Barley Wine Ale
COOP Ale Works

On tap. Poured a clear, golden orange color with ruby highlights and a small, tan head of foam. It smelled of toffee, sweet caramel and oak. Tasted sweet and boozy with strong caramel and toffee notes. Some oak and vanilla taste, too.

 

 

the barrel aged strong ales these guys are making are pretty insane. the ones i have had have been incredibly boozy, complex, and aggressive, and this massive barleywine is no exception. it is rich and frothy in the glass from the bottle, caramel amber color with a nice head on it. the aroma is surprisingly hoppy for the style, some zested citrus and sturdy northwestern hop bitterness. lots of barrel on this too, bourbon all the way, with its classic honey and vanilla complexion, with the charred wood in behind, its wintery and strong, sweet and bitter at the same time. the flavor is pretty solid, but so much going on that its maybe a little disjointed. the hops compete for attention with the sweeter richer grain, and its big on big, very intense to drink on, even when its chilled well. as it warms the hops really become a lot, and along with the booziness of it, its almost overly intense for me. bready baked barley malt character, toffee and maple notes, and grapefruit bitterness at the end, still sweet too. good carbonation for the style, and the bourbon character does a good job bridging the gap between the grain and the hops, but overall this was on the edge of too much for me, not as refined as the best beers in the style. tasty, but come prepared to stay awhile, this is an absolute beast!

 

 

Still on tap at The Bearded Lady in Fort Worth and magnificently delicious.

 

Bottle shared by Chris, thanks. Deep copper color with a thin white head. Dark sweet caramel and light fruit. Sticky sweet mouthfeel. Pretty good beer.

 

 

 

2015 offering pours an effervescent orange tinged caramel with a thumb of tan head. Stays effervescent, very good lacing and above average head retention

S: Bourbon, figs, leafy hops, raisins once warm

T: Follows the nose, a little dryness and candied sugar up front. Pecans, dryness, Bourbon & figs as this warms, along a with a little Dhrambuie, faint herbal signature as well. Finishes with woody and leafy hops, dryness, booze warmth & oakyness along with some tangerine

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, dryness

Drinks a bit slow, pretty complex with a few rough edges still there. I imagine this will age nicely, not picking up much American hops profile, but they used Amarillo as finishing hops and Citra in the dry hop finish according to the label...