Barley Wine Ale
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company

von_kaiser from Connecticut

3.98/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Feb 11, 2019

larryi86 from Delaware

4.37/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

12 oz bottle poured into a wine glass

A- A dark brown, almost black, with no head. 3.75

S- Caramel, dark fruits, cherries, toffee, bourbon, oak, touch of alcohol, a little earthy. 4.25

T- Dark fruits, caramel, cherries, toffee, oak, bourbon, slightly earthy, hints of sweet oranges. 4.5

M- Smooth, medium to full body. 4

O- This tastes like a very well brewed Barleywine. 4.5

After thoughts:
This is an enjoyable Barleywine but I am very surprised it’s not barrel aged, the heat from the alcohol definitely suggested barrel aged when drinking this blind.

Jul 22, 2020

superspak from North Carolina

3.85/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle into snifter, 2018 vintage. Pours very hazy deep ruby red/brown color with a small foamy khaki head with poor retention, that reduces to nothing pretty quickly. No lacing, some clinging bubbles on the glass, and streaming carbonation. Good appearance. Aromas of big raisin, plum, fig, cherry, date, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, melon, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted biscuit, roasted nuts, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, licorice, cocoa, smoke, leather, tobacco, wood, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/toasted earthiness. A bit too fruity/yeasty aromas, but not overwhelming. Nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and light earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big raisin, plum, fig, cherry, date, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, melon, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted biscuit, roasted nuts, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, licorice, cocoa, smoke, leather, tobacco, wood, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate pine, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery hops; and light roasted bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of raisin, plum, fig, cherry, date, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, melon, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted biscuit, roasted nuts, brown bread/crust, molasses, licorice, cocoa, smoke, leather, tobacco, wood, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and lightly slick/syrupy/sticky mouthfeel that is great. Lightly increasing warmth of 13%, with minimal lingering booze after the finish. Overall this is a very nice English barleywine. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish. Perfectly balanced rich malts, fruity English yeast complexity, and solid earthy hop presence/balance. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering bitter dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example as expected.

Feb 27, 2019

Zaphog from Michigan

3.45/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Dec 23, 2018

AleHunter805 from California

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Feb 25, 2019

Wolvmar from Michigan

3.96/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

2018 vintage. 12oz bottle poured into a tulip glass. Purchased at Kuhnhenn Winter Solstice bottle sale. Served at 48 degrees.

Pour: deep red-brown color. Absolutely no head, ring or lacing.

Nose: pretty subtle malts, maybe some dark fruit. Fighting a cold so maybe my sniffer is bad.

Taste: sharp, bready malt and caramel upfront. Dark fruit, brandy, molasses. Some burnt toast on the backend.

Mouthfeel: reasonably thick. Slight carbonation. Not real viscous, more a little oily. Slight coating of the tongue with a pretty clean finish.

Overall: the look is underwhelming, the nose a little as well. The taste is outstanding as is the mouthfeel. Sort of a bi-polar review. While it won’t impress with its looks, this is a good beer to sit back and sip on a cold night. Worth trying when you can get it.

Dec 29, 2018

drunkenmess from Michigan

4.12/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Jan 06, 2019

bbtkd from South Dakota

3.94/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Kuhnhenn Barely Wine Ale, 13% ABV. Pours dark brown with no head. Nose is not much. Taste is dark fruit, some caramel/toffee/moleasses, with a slight bitterness. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

Dec 28, 2019