Tavern Rat
The New Old Lompoc

 

Thanks to hopdog for sharing this mini growler...
Appears a dark amber with an orange hue, and a small, off white head that quickly fades into a gentle cap.
Smell is of caramel, vanilla, buttercream, dark fruit, and mild hops.
Taste is of the aromas with raisins, herbs, vanilla, and figs coming through.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with touches of oak on the palate, and a slightly thin finish.

Sampled at Toronado 2009 Barleywine Festival.
Pours deep amber with copper edges and tan head. The aroma is a mix of figs, prunes and dates to go along with aged chewy malts and faint wood. Good nose yet a bit modest in strength. Very nice taste that will yield increased goodness with more age. I get musty dusty dates, yams, figs and prunes. Before midway the barrel notes rise up with bourbon, vanilla and oak adding to the complexity. Well balanced flavors that demand additional quaffings. I could sip this all day/night.

Had on tap at Toronado Bwine Fest.
Poured a deep ruby color with a small frothy head. Smell was complex. Fruity and malty with a nice hop profile. Taste followed suit. I tasted perhaps some cherry in there somewhere, a little zing to it. Sweet and well balanced. Very good barleywine.

Draught served in a wine glass, I had them pour this about 1/2 hr before I got to it to let it warm, since their ales are all served too cold for my taste. Very dark brown with a thin, off-white collar.

Smell is very strong and rather usual, almost a bit funky, which had me nervous about their 1 year aging process, with dark cured fruits.

Taste is very rich, sweet and syrupy, but no funky spoilage like I feared from the nose. Loads of malty depth comes across mainly as toffee and a little black cherry, with a nice citrus hop backbone that has rounded out rather nicely in 1 years time, which has presumably helped with the overall smoothness.

Mouthfeel is on the thicker, syrupy side.

Drinkablity is pretty good, but this is very robust and heavy on the palate, in spite of the softening from the cellar.

Very nice English styled barley wine with a twist...

Appearance: Copper/brown with a small lace and weak head...It's a barleywine! What do you want!

Aroma: Rummy, Honey, Cherries, Rasins and a subtle hop, very subtle.

Taste: Deep maltiness. Very nice maltiness with hints of higher cystal malts and some toastiness. Earthy hoppiness balances out the beer, barely! The Rum/rasin notes come through with hints of wildflower honey dancing on the back of my tongue..

Finish: Big and tongue coating maltiness with a toffeeish stickiness. Hops give a slight tongue tingle. Hints of flowery honey, maple and tart fruits..

Overall: A surprising nice Barleywine with lots of depth. No aging needed!

This was a pleasant surprise as I wasn’t expecting a barleywine from New Old Lompoc, especially with a release this late in the season. What was further surprising was the matrix of odd flavors suggesting strawberry, cherry, and wild honey. The strawberry notes in particular were strange though welcome. They were also quite persistent.

Tavern Rat is dark chestnut with a modest malty nose and only skeletal bittering. The body is very heavy with an exaggerated mouthfeel and isolated head and lace. A very solid brew and a welcome addition to the regional big beer menu.