Wendigo - Triple Oak-Aged
Anchorage Brewing Company

 

Drank from a 12.7 fl. oz. / 375ml gold wax dipped bottle purchased on Tavour
Batch #3
Served in a tulip

Interesting appearance. The beer poured a somewhat thinner than anticipated dark brown hue that approached black. Even with a fairly aggressive pour, there was no head but only saddle brown swirls atop the liquid. The swirls eventually transformed into a pencil thin collar. There was no lacing either, but some drippy legs trickled down the sides of the glass.

The aroma was outstanding. Rich caramel and toffee notes dominated. Burnt caramel specifically came to mind. Loads of sweet brown sugar too. There was an intense boozy, bourbon quality as well. Vanilla also came through strong. Touch of savory-ness. Big dark fruit presence as well. Charred raisin and plum notes were apparent. Both the dark fruits and the vanilla intensified as the beer warmed.

The flavor profile was very similar to the aroma and nearly as impressive. Super malty and robust up front. Excellent melding of sweet caramel malts and roasted malt notes. Burnt caramel and burnt sugar were apparent as well. Boozy bourbon notes appeared as the liquid moved along the palate. Vanilla was noticeable in the center. Charred raisin and plum notes appeared on the back end and the finish. Roasted malts, sweet brown sugar and oaky bourbon notes lingered after the swallow.

The mouthfeel was surprisingly light and fluffy for the style and contained a super fine, fairly aggressive carbonation that fluffed up nicely on the palate. For a twenty-plus percent ABV beer, the alcohol was shockingly well hidden.

Anchorage Brewing make some of the best barleywines on the planet, and this triple oak-aged version of Wendigo was extraordinary. The extended aging in multiple spirit barrels contributed some amazingly complex bourbon and dark fruit notes, yet the beer somehow managed to still maintain a semblance of freshness and balance.

 

 

 

 

2023 vintage. i love the concept of a black barleywine, and this one is fire, in line with other enormous and fancily oaked beers from these guys, god i hate the price points, truly offensive, but i get it, and they have carved out that prestige niche for themselves pretty well in the greater northwest, makes sense, but its obnoxious to drop like 80 bucks on small bottles. this is real thick like they all are, viscous to an intimidating degree, but it also has just a bit more carbonation able to push through, a short dark tan head on this, more than others, leggy and dense and close to black. the nose and taste are majorly oak forward, wet tobacco, raisin paste, date, smoke, rich high end chocolate, loads of wood, vanilla, and good whiskey, lightly spicy and definitely boozy, sweet, and yet also long and smoothed out and all super cohesive and well integrated. the barleywine vs stout aspect is obvious, like there is a ton of long boiled middle malts to this, even an english character to the grain in the center, toffee and molasses, and the dark barley in here doesnt add a ton of roasted bitterness, despite the color. the exhale after each sip is straight fire, really alcoholic, but the flavors endure on the palate, loads of chocolate, dak bread, old wood, and quality whiskey. the maturity on this is nuts, like the barrels have done so much to it, but it also doesnt have any of that tired or collapsed or oxidized character than long aged beers often do, there is still a tight freshness of sorts to it as well, neat. love the palate coating feel and the weight, even if i can necessarily only drink a little bit of this, happy to be sharing the bottle a few ways. cool barleywine, love the concept of black barleywine and the execution is lovely, hints of smore and cigar and vanilla bean as it warms. top tier, but a serious commitment from the bank account to the liver...

 

Pours a deep brown. Aroma is dominated by chocolate, bourbon, vanilla & oak. Taste is really intense. Follows nose with addition of strong flavors of dark fruits & toffee. Med/full mouthfeel.

Bottle at share. Dark brown pour, ring of head. Aroma is malty, woddy, vaniila. Taste is sweet, malty, leather, chocolate, vanilla and bourbon. Very rich and deep.

poured from a 375mL into a TG DBA tumbler. pours a shiny, stout-y black with a thin layer of brown foam that quickly fades into nothing. stains the glass with thin legs as the liquid is consumed. heavy bourbon barrel on the nose with underlying aromas of chocolate and toffee. it’s a lot of barrel though (which i suppose should be obvious from the “triple-oaked” moniker). the taste is very chocolate, toffee and oak bourbon barrel forward with only a hint of dark fruits in the background. again, very stout-like. thick, sludgy and sticky mouthfeel. as it warms and opens up it becomes a pure joy to sip on. the nose is full of bourbon and oak while the taste boasts rich cocoa, toffee, caramel and the slightest hints of raisin. really good stuff.

 

 

Pitch blackish brown pour with a beige head. This is a more molasses and brown sugar dipped dark fruit and barrel forward version of the original in all aspects. It is a little warmer in the body, but the oak complexity is so much more, still rich and smooth too. Prefer this slightly more, even though it is certainly more decadent. Still a warm dessert of a barleywine, but now with more barrel character! The wife liked it