Sawyer's Swap
Cape May Brewing Company

 

 

 

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a tulip glass.

Look is a lot darker than a regular barleywine more like an extra dark brown ale with little to no head.

Aroma is sweet molasses with a little dark fruits (candied cherry) at the end.

Taste is very sweet giving way to a medicinal bitterness.

It's too bad the taste really ruins this one. I had such expectations with the look and aroma.

 

 

I had this on draught at the brewery. It pours cola brown with cherry hues, and a foamy khaki-colored head and lacing. It smells and caramel, raisin, brown sugar, and floral hops. The taste opens with a dose of sweet caramel, plum, and raisin, and finishes with a refined hoppy bitterness. The flavors compliment each other and blend well. It has a fairly thick, creamy mouth feel, with mild carbonation, and a noticeable ABV of 9.6% Overall, it is a very nice interpretation of the American Barleywine style. It would pair nicely with a meal but it is great for casual drinking, as well. I think this is one of Cape May Brewing's finest offerings.

 

(12 oz bottle, no date, unfiltered... poured into a wine glass)

L: finger+ high foam stand, loose/open on the edges, satiny/rocky toward the middle... deep black cherry burgundy hue to the liquid, fair-good clarity... a couple splashy streaks of lace, no lasting head retention, only a thin collar

S: artifacts of some piney and citrus hops linger at the top, slightly roasty and mid-dark caramel malt aromas lumber beneath... overall, reminds me of a shade-darker Bigfoot... a booze dawn is just poking out over the horizon... the overall blend is appealing

T: bold fruity hops, no doubt in concert with some high fruity esters, with a slowly unfolding woodsy bitterness clinging to the tastebuds... the malt base is rich, again, leaning roast-forward, which leaves a nice balance against what is thankfully not a vibrant malt sweetness

F: medium-full bodied, on the medium side, but with a subtle, sumptuous slick slide of sugar in the finish... mild bit of warmth, but its essence seems to hover slightly under the dull stinging bitterness of the hops helped by the alcohol... pretty consistently (and borderline too) dry in the back end each time I've tried it... drinks more like a dry stout than an RIS

O: one of a small few of their beers I feel like they do pretty well, and I love that one of their winners is a high-powered malt vehicle, though they could get away with eking out as much as a 1/2% more abv... I've sampled this at the brewery a couple times and always enjoyed it and, now having finally had a full glass, I can certainly anticipate grabbing a full 4-pack fairly soon, a few packs of which I've seen sitting in some stores down here for a long while and have hopefully aged well

 

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a tulip glass. Dark brown/tawny color with a thick off-white head that slowly subsides into a modest sized lace. Toasted malted barley aroma with undertones of herbal, earthy (grassy/hay) hop aromas. Sweet toasted malts again with more flavors of burnt sugar as well as a bit of spicy rye/tobacco. Finishes with some earthy hop bitterness.

Overall it's a good American barleywine. I love the history behind the name. Recommended

 

 

 

12 oz bottle poured into a snifter.

Appearance
Deep chestnut (near black) with ruby highlights. 1/2 finger of tan head dissipates quickly.

Nose
Molasses, toffee, prune, raisin, caramel, cocoa, and light pine.

Taste
Molasses, toffee, and caramel. Prune juice and raisin. Hints of cocoa. Light earthy hop flavors with slight pine and grapefruit zest.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus bodied, smooth, oily, and balanced.

Overall
Molasses, toffee, and dark fruit. A well balanced Barleywine that hides the abv well.

 

12oz bottle, served in a snifter. Deep brown with reddish highlights, encroaching on porter/stout levels of darkness. Short head, little lace formation. Floral and citric aroma with just a hint of alcohol. Hop notes overshadow malt contributions to a degree.

Quite a bit of hop bitterness on the palate. Again, a bit too heavy on the hops, as the rich flavors of ripe fruit and caramelized sugar that I'd like to taste in a barleywine are muted. A little bit of booziness on the finish that's not out of character for the style. Mouthfeel is fine but suffers from too much fizziness. Flavor improves as it warms. Maybe some age would show this in a better light.

 

From BeerAdvocate Magazine #90 (July 2014):

Malty, Heavy, Bitter, Boozy

A bit of a malt bomb to start with layers of caramel and dried plums, some yeast kicks around a quite noticeable alcohol. Bread but then soon bitter from a heavy dose of hops, mild tobacco and citrus rind flavors come to mind. A few sips in and this beaut really starts to grow on us. We’d opt to drink it fresh.

STYLE: American Barleywine | ABV: 9.6% | AVAILABILITY: Rotating

Gives less than a half finger head, tan foam but no retention, leaves a thin dusting dusting across the surface, can’t call it powerful but there’s actually more lacing than expected. Noticeably clear brown-orange hued liquid, actually a beautiful color, close to zero visible bubbles. Caramel, honey, scones and caramelized brown sugar make the first impression in the nose, dried cherries and golden raisins, old school country style bread, the kind of rip off in chunks, light wood smoke, remarkable for its freshness and ease in flowing forward through your nostrils. Full-bodied, here it has enough density that just maybe it loses that effortless grace. Peat, smoke, spent yeast, cola bean, caraway, by now the herbal qualities may have seen their best days. Tar, graphite, campfire embers, as it warms the inner mouth pungency grows. The carbonation could stand to have more kick but this is a minor quibble. Cherry, golden raisin, date and fig, this all manages to step lively. Booziness held in check throughout, tingly finish without any well intentioned lurching forward. This could prove versatile at the dinner table.