4th Anniversary
La Cumbre Brewing Co.

Sampling a cellar temp 22 oz bomber bottle and pouring into my trusty 22 oz snifter.
With a gentle pour I get a very dark mahogany colored brew with garnet highlights when I hold up my glass. I get very minimal khaki colored head that is the thinnest of edge layers. there are attempts to replenish the foam by several active streams of carbonation rising to the surface of the beer.
The aroma is very malt forward with caramel and brown sugar mixing with molasses and some dark fruit. I get raisins and red grape primarily. There is whiffs of rum and a little general booziness too, but I dont get any hop presence here.
First sip reveals a fairly thick body with sticky texture and almost non existent carbonation. This is a big brew and the physical traits remind you of that fact.
Flavor is what the nose told me about. I get a good dose of sweet malt with toffee and brown sugar up front. There is some raisin and plum note and then a good dose of rum flavor and some warming booze on the finish. Again the hops are in the backseat or non-existent on this brew. This is a big brew and I find it to be a bit of a sipper. Definitely on the sweeter side of things, but not too much IMO. A nice solid boozy B-wine. Glad I got the opportunity to empty this bottle!

Cellared 3 years

Poured into a tulip

Appearance: dark chestnut brown with considerable haze. This just appears malty sweet, almost like fresh wort or caramelized sugar/syrup. This head is a light tan with a medium retention that fades to nothing.

Aroma: malty sweetness, alcohol and brown sugar. No oak aroma from the barrel aging.

Flavor: there are quite a few layers; lots of complexity. Brown sugar, light toffee, malt sweetness, rye bread, alcohol – or maybe that’s that rum BA. Not warming, but the alcohol doesn’t hide either. Not hot, though.

Mouthfeel: very nice; this beer starts out light-medium, but then its body matures and shows some weight. This will creep on you.

Overall: in my opinion, in the Land of Enchantment, La Cumbre reigns supreme. I bought this beer because I think La Cumbre produces some damn good beer, especially in the hoppy categories. I was skeptical of the 151 rum BA, but it works in this beer. Lots of complexity. Very well done.

Acquired from Swettenham_Shire so a big “Thank You” goes out to him. Poured from a 22oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a dark brown color with a very thin off-white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains brown sugar, rum, caramelized malts, some fruit and some hops.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of brown sugar, caramel and some rum. Then a hearty malt character comes in along with some alcohol sting. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings some balance. The rum flavor strengthens as you continue to drink the beer. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and a little crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, strong kick, good representation of style, this is a solid barleywine to drink for a while.

A: Very dark amber with thin light brown head around edges
S: Brown sugar, caramel, toffee, pine, sweet dark fruit, rum
T: Very sweet rum, caramel, dates, brown sugar, light bitterness, alcohol, toffee, pineapple juice
M: Thick with light carbonation
O: Very tasty and well blended rum flavor. Alcohol still noticeable after aging but appropriate to cut sweetness

 

 

 

 

22 oz bottle poured into Spiegelau glass

A: reddish hue dark has pretty good clarity not a bad head

S: lots of resiny hops and a lot of maltiness and a little bit of rum barrel

T: get a nice hoppy taste with rich toffee and caramel nice rum characteristics vanilla but still has a lot of piney thick maltiness

M: Thick this lays on your tongue its amazing

O: This beer is lush its full and just attacks your tastebuds layers of hoppy resiny deep rich maltiness than a lot of nice caramel, vanilla, and toffee from the barrel its a very layered and decadent beer. I would never have guessed this is an English Barleywine it drinks like an american barleywine.

 

 

 

 

 

-little to no head but maybe that is normal in this style?
-very fruity smell with a slight wine tart sent and light alcohol , finishes sweet
-you can taste the 151 barrel they nailed that, the fruityness of this beer is also a a very tartness
- coats the mouth thick but balanced slight oiliness?
-one of the first few barley wines i have had but i am very fond of this beer and feel they achieved what that brewers were aiming for.

Spectacular on the taste buds