Copper Shield Bitter Harvest
Dragonmead Microbrewery

On-tap at Dragonmead.

Appearance: A brown sort of color with a thin layer of foam on top. A lot of clarity. It looks decent.

Smell: Decidedly hoppy, but also with a nice caramel sweetness. I wouldn't say you really get the alcohol on the nose but you get the feeling that the ABV is high on it. Pretty nice. A lot of hops, but not so much that you think it's an IPA.

Taste: Tasty. This is described as being "intensely bitter" or something along those lines, and there's a super sharp hop bitterness, but it's not brutal thanks to a fair amount of balance from the caramel malts. It's certainly not a balanced beer overall (more hoppy, which I was expecting), but I liked it. I hadn't had an American Barleywine before this one that I really liked all that much, aside from Bigfoot from Sierra Nevada. The mouthfeel is pretty nice, but a bit more body would be welcome.

I was going between a 3.75 and a 4 overall and I went up on it because, again, this is one of the better American Barleywines I've had.

 

 

Pour is an orange, copper, red. Vibrant. Aroma is subtle. The taste is very smooth and one can see how they say this is a drinkable barleywine, it is definitely. Has the undernotes and warmness of a typical barleywine, but at the same time is very different.

 

 

Huge thanks to my sister for scoring two Dragonmead glowers for us.

This one pours a nice copper color with tan head. The aroma is a bit mild with fruity esters like plums, dates and cherries as well as grapefruit hops and a mild sense of hotness on the nose from the alcohol. The taste begins with sweet nectar maltiness mixing with grapefruit and orange citrus hop bitterness. The rich sweet sugary maltiness cut the hop bitterness creating a pleasing balance. Then mild dark fruity esters enter with notes of prunes, cherries, dates and plums. It gets peppery as the finish approaches. Could use a year or more of age.

On tap at the brew pub. The menu referred to this as an "Extremely Bitter Barleywine".

Poured a copper brown color into a chalice. Sweet malty smell. Taste is very balanced and well done, not overwhelming in either direction. Slightly bitter finish in favor of the hops. Caramel malt is apparent throughout with a nice balance of alcohol in the right amount. Very well done.

On tap at the Dragonmead Brew Pub.

Poured a medium amber color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, earthy, citrus, and dome fruitiness. Tastes of caramel, toffee, citrus, and fruity. Softer and smooth body with the alcohol content well hidden. Lacing left on the glass.

Oddly named, but hey this is Dragonmead. Amber-brown mahogoney colour with white head and lace. Barley aroma. Very Bitter taste,I have had worse,there is some malting, and I find out that's what they advertise-a bitter American barleywine. At the brewpub.

Enjoyed at the brewpub. Slightly hazed dark coppery colour with a thin cap of light tan foam. Good retention with some spotty lacing. Sweet, hoppy aroma with lots of caramel, tangerine, and orange. Solid bitterness balanced by rich caramel, light toffee and orange/grapefruit hops. Full bodied with low, well-integrated carbonation. For a barleywine, this one goes down easy. Really easy. A top-notch offering from Dragonmead.