"The Camp" Barleywine
Squam Brewing

awesome brew. i believe this bottle had been sitting for a few years, and although i havent drank it fresh, it gave me the impression that the age had made this brew very round and somewhat subdued. had an abundance of sweetness with caramel, sugar notes, toffee, nutty, a bit of a greenish bitter hint from the hops. absolutely no trace of the alcohol, mouthfeel was nice as well. very surprised and impressed here!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a deep burnished copper color with a smallish beige head that slowly recedes but never dissipates. Smells of brown sugar, caramel, a bit of dark pitted fruit, some earthy hops and a bit of an alcohol presence. The flavor is a bit on the sweet side with lots of dark sugar and caramel malt. A light bit of cherry and plum fruitiness mixed with an earthy hop flavor and a touch of ethanol. Medium to thick body with a light to moderate level of carbonation and a sweet sugary syrupy mouthfeel. Not to shabby of a barleywine. This is the second time I've had this and I'm glad I did because I remember not caring for it the first time. Maybe a batch or bottle variation?

Sweet bottle art. Looks like my uncle's camp in NH. Probably looks like most camps in NH.

Thick lump of a head over a cloudy copper beer. Thick blanket of retention schmears lace all down my glass. Unfiltered as the bottom of the bottle was pretty goopy.

Smells great. Overly ripe fruit, particularly raisin and bruised MacIntosh apple. Brandy soaked bread crust.

Tastes great. Lots of fruit and caramel with some spice still left in back. Like caramel apple raisin cider. Gentle alcoholic pat on the bottom, a year in the cellar probably helped. Very low carbonation but I like that in a barleywine. Thick, smooth mouthfeel.

Really good. I bought this on a whim 'cause of the bottle art at Bert's, never even having heard of the brewery. I'll buy Squam again if I ever see'em.

 

Presentation: 22 oz. bomber bottle chilled and poured into my Bruery tulip glass. Picked up for $8 at a local store. This is the first time I've sampled anything from this brewery or even heard of them.

Appearance: Light brown in color and pretty hazy. Pours without almost any carbonation.

Aroma: Caramel, toffee and baked apple notes upfront. Very little hop presence at all. Definitely some booze present as well.

Taste: Toffee and baked apple sweetness upfront. Some bitterness from the hops, nice pine with a bit of citrus. The booze is definitely there. Not sure if the flavors completely come together.

Mouthfeel: The bottle I got is definitely undercarbonated. Full bodied. The lack of carbonation gives it an almost syrupy feel.

Overall, a decent barleywine with some glaring flaws. The booze is not particularly well hidden and the flavors don't meld as well as I'd like. The lack of carbonation in the bottle definitely hurt as well. It would definitely benefit from some age, but I can't see it ever being stellar.

In a snifter this beer was a bright ruby red color with a small tan head. There was no lace.

Bready aroma, lots of caramel malt. A little bit of fruit, and an even tinier bit of hops.

Toffee and caramel taste. Very sweet. Some fruit. A whisper of hops.

This was a very smooth barleywine. Did not notice the alcohol at all.

Thanks to angrybabboon for the shared bottle.

Appearance: Slightyl hazed deep copper. Head is bright-white, creamy and dwindles pretty quickly. Beer pours nice and thick.

Smell: Apple skin and flesh. Biscuit, touches of caramel. Grassy and almost smells like it was finished with a lager yeast. Big yeast compliment. Almost no hops. Hints of floral hops. Esters like whoa. So very appley.

Taste. Burnt apples and toffee. Huge biscuit component. Booze. Flavors aren't melding at all. Harsh. Almost phenolic at times. Borders on medicinal. Band-Aids and apples soaked in booze.

Mouthfeel: Moderate to full body. Carbonation is definitely on the high side. ABV dries it out a touch.

Overall: I think something happened with fermentation or bottling. It tastes like a botched homebrew. Flavors are all over the place and don't really work together. Very young. Maybe some age would help, but they need to fix the off-flavors.

Review adapted from notes taken 1/21/12

Appearance: Brownish orange, starts off with a moderately sized off-white head

Smell: A little strange - basically, cooked malts, cooked apples, and alcohol - the apple is weird, smells like a fermentation byproduct

Taste: Simply put, harsh - a decent range of malts - nicely cooked to slightly pale - some leafy bitterness - but the main flavors here are not good - tons of apple, tons of alcohol, perhaps a bit oxidized - kind of tastes like something went wrong, or that this beer is way too young and needs to mellow for about a year

Mouthfeel: Medium to heavy, nice carbonation, a bit sticky, tons of lingering alcohol

Overall: Maybe this should have stayed at "the camp" for a bit longer

There are some problems with this beer. It's very harsh, with a lot of alcohol. It's rough around the edges, to say the least. Some of the issues may improve with time, but others may be genuine flaws (byproducts of fermentation).