Knights Of The Barleywine (Cognac Barrel Aged)
Swamp Head Brewery

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From:
Swamp Head Brewery
 
Florida, United States
Style:
English Barleywine
ABV:
9.6%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.71 | pDev: 14.02%
Reviews:
2
Ratings:
15
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 04, 2017
Added:
Dec 30, 2013
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  0
Deep in the Florida Swamps lies a setting that few would brave. Reeking of bubbling wort and lewd conversation, riddled with darkness and absurdity, this convention takes place just before the dawn of each new year.

We speak of the annual meeting of the Knights of the Barleywine, where legendary folk of all shapes come together to brew their yearly bounty, a high gravity beast of a barleywine. Here we give you a window into the experience of being knighted; a barrel aged barleywine that will challenge you with upfront flavors of malt sweetness and cognac, followed by a velvety soft mouthfeel and a smooth, warming finish.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Coldsnack:
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Rated by Coldsnack from Florida

4.25/5  rDev +14.6%

Jan 04, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of SFC21
Reviewed by SFC21 from Florida

4.3/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Had this beer when it was originally released and thought it was sub-par. After 3 years of aging this has developed into a beautiful beer. For a BA barleywine this has turned into a light (relatively) and flavorful brew.
Jul 04, 2017
Photo of Bung
Rated by Bung from Michigan

3.53/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
A gusher at a tasting. Bet this was pretty nice earlier in its life.
Dec 14, 2015
 
Rated: 2.75 by Stinger80OH from Ohio

Oct 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by RayUF07 from Florida

Jun 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by mctizzz from California

Mar 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by moonknight31 from California

Mar 24, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by Devi0us from California

Mar 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by drewone from California

Feb 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Wowcoolman from California

Feb 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by cfaulman from Wisconsin

Feb 03, 2014
Photo of BMMillsy
Reviewed by BMMillsy from Florida

3.11/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
2013 Bottle ("Knighted in 2012"). Pours a murky brownish amber color with a one finger off white head that looks very creamy. The aroma: uh oh. This might be infected. It has a sour apple and cherry aroma like a very nice sour red/brown. For an English barleywine...not right. Flavor follows the smell closely. Sour apple flavor with some hefty booze in the background from the cognac barrels. Some other fruits and a hint of toffee. Mouthfeel is slick and pretty heavy, but with some spritzy carbonation to go along. This is so far off style I can’t even begin to describe my confusion. But it is actually decently tasty. I don’t know how to rate this. If they told me this was a sour brown, I’d give it a high 3 score. As a barleywine? In the 1’s. Spliting the difference for now. I think I’ll stop by Swamp Head tomorrow to see if they know about this issue or if this was the intended flavor.

Revisiting this after capping for a day and letting it hang out in the fridge. Less carbonation of course this time around. Still a bit of a sour aroma with some cognac and figs in there. Sweet with some figs and bready malt, liquor bite, sweet molasses. Still a bit of a lingering sour kick left in the palate. In any case, the flavor is lacking and falls a bit flat beside the bit of sourness. Not their best effort by any means, hopefully they work out the kinks next year. When I mentioned it at the brewery I was told, "Sometimes you get funky flavors because this is barrel aged. That's how it goes." Whatever. It's not terrible but it sounds like they know they put an infected beer in bottles.
Jan 13, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Lasering from Florida

Jan 03, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by jme015 from Florida

Dec 30, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by cjgator3 from Florida

Dec 30, 2013
Knights Of The Barleywine (Cognac Barrel Aged) from Swamp Head Brewery
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 15 ratings