Barley Wine
Taps Fish House & Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at The Surly Goat in West Hollywood, CA.

Pours a clear dark copper orange with a tan head that fades to nothing. No lacing on this one. Smell is of malt and brown sugar with some nice citrus zest aromas. Taste is of malt and brown sugar up front with an herbal and almost vegetal hop finish. There is a mild level of bitterness after each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good barleywine but it smells better than it tastes in my opinion.

 

A very nice example of English Barleywine, thanks to Darrell.

A: Nice super dark crimson color. Almost dark brown. Head of a pinky dies to a ring of off white head with some lacing.

S: In the pocket for a barleywine- toffee, brown sugar, heavy hops, alcohol complexity without the heat, ripe fruits (like ones on cheese plate), wet grain. Some smoke and of course burnt caramel.

T: Taste follows the nose but with some nice hop esters clearly making a dent in all the malty flavors. Caramel and toffee, some other sweet flavors i can't put a finger on. Alcohol is not and not hot just complex.

M: Not super thick in feel, slick and non-hot alcohol. Juicy.

Great beer, would love to have aging in the cellar! A great barleywine.

Bottle shared by durwoodx. Thanks Darrell.

The beer is light brown with a lasting beige cap. The aroma offers toffee, malt, alcohol, followed by a piny hop presence. Surprisingly smooth, with a balance of hops and malts. Alcohol presence is there, but unobtrusive. Great feel. Strong, yet soft on the palate. My first brew from Taps, this was tasty. Recommended.

4/10/2011

On tap at Stone.

A: Crimson tinged brown with a small beige cap. Nice color.

S: Rich caramel with light toffee notes and an earthy quality. Subtle date notes accompany brown sugar, pine, and prune. I detect a little apple and pear, which seems odd but actually smells quite nice. Malt has a mild toasted character and a light nuttiness.

T: Earthy caramel with dried date, prune, and toffee. Lightly nutty and toasted. Alcohol is deftly masked. The flavor is rich but manages to avoid being overly sweet. Bitterness is low. Really nice flavor. Sticky caramel finish.

M: Upper medium to lower full in body with lower moderate carbonation. Mouthfeel is smooth, chewy, silky, and sticky with substantial warming.

Overall: A very nice English Barleywine. High quality stuff. Recommended.

405th review on BA
Draft-

App- This had that dark red you see in tail lights, nice deep red, a little bit of head to it but not a lot of cling.

Smell- This was very fresh in the glass, a lot of malts and hops fighting over the direction of this Barleywine.

Taste- A very young barleywine, fresh, vibrant and a little bit of that green apple taste.

Mouth- A bit thin for me in terms of a Barleywine, was still a soft medium with a matching carb level.

Drink- Overall, still a very decent barleywine. I liked the big abv and the taste but needs some time to mature.

Got a chance to try this one on tap at Tony's Darts Away.

Served in a snifter, believe it was a 6-8 oz pour.

The beer pours a rich, hazy brown with ruby red hues at the edges when held to the light. The head is about a quarter to a half inch beige color that laces the glass walls, with light retention.

The scents in the aroma are like a caramel covered almond, dipped in a sweet pine, or fruity syrup. Some toffee notes, and the alcohol bite tie in the contrast of sweet to hops that whiff off the beer.

The flavors in the taste also mirror the nose. Initially it is a sweet draw, caramel malt flavors, with a sweet nutty toffee note and fruit. The fruit notes are a contrast between candied mango, and dates to me. The hops are of wood, like cedar, herbs, and pine. None in your face, but still potent that they are there.

The mouthfeel is full, but not overly carbonated. At 10% ABV, it is well blended, a nice sipper.

Overall, more of what I expect from a barley wine, sweet, but not like candy. Far too many barley wines these days are overly hopped, and much closer to DIPA's. Glad I had the time to stop in while they had it at TDA's since I don't live that close to Brea. Would order again if I came across it.

A winter seasonal beer that the guys over at TAPS do an amazing job with! Served on cask and poured into short-stemmed flute glass.

A: The initial glance came across as a simple dark brown (almost black), but with further investigation and better lighting, mahogany hues where then encountered and observed. This body supported a beautiful 1-finger cream colored head that also had a substantial amount of head retention, followed by thick lacing.

S: The first characteristics I stumbled across were sweets malts (similar to those found in a Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale) and a heavy hop presence. Both of these qualities were not overdone, but melded nicely with the dark fruit aroma that immediately followed.

T: Dark sweet malts, caramel, dark fruit/fig, hop flavor, mild chocolate and a touch of roasted malt. All the flavors came together beautifully and created complex, robust and soft flavor profile all at the same time.

M: Soft and thick on the palate with hint of carbonation. The finish was a little dry, which may be contributed to some of the heavy hop flavor, but the beginning and middle left a cream-like impression on me.

D: For a 10% ABV beer, it was more than easy to down to say the least! Very little alcohol presence and with multitude of bold flavors this beer exhibited, TAPS Barleywine made quite an impression on me.

Overall: Feel extremely lucky I've had the pleasure to try this out for several years now! With every vintage that comes out, I find very little change from year to year....and I hope it continues to be this way. Might be going out on a limb here, but thus far, this has to be one of the best examples of a Barleywine. A must try! Cheers!

Served in a wine glass with my jambalaya, on to the beer:

Deep, dark, and red. The nose brings plenty of fruity esters, sugars, and a tropical fruit note. Like the aroma, the taste follows a similar suit. Quite sweet overall, but with moderate hoppiness to keep it honest (and tasty!) Caramel, fruit esters, tropical fruit, and a little resin to taste, but the alcohol is buried masterfully. It's still a slow drinker, but I would have no problem asking for another one.

Probably my favorite of the beers brewed by Taps, and one of the better American-made barley wines I've had in a long time.

A: The pour is a deep, dark brown color with plenty of red highlights throughout the beer. The head is small, but a good looking off-white color.

S: We're definitely on to something here: toffee, caramel, and dark fruits. There is a nice balance with some slightly piney hops coming into play as well.

T: Like the nose, the sweet malt and sugar flavors are really the biggest players. But, there is also some light chocolate and dark fruit. Again, there is some mild hop bitterness to keep this one from being overly sweet.

M: The body is quite full with a low level of carbonation. The alcohol doesn't really come through at all, so no heat to speak of.

D: Easily the best beer I had, and not a style that you usually find on tap at a brewpub. If I was to go back for a pint, this would be my choice.

Glass at the Taps in Brea on 1/11/09, had one of these while my growler was getting filled, reviewed from notes, color is a medium to dark brown, 3/4 inch creamy vanilla colored head that lasted almost ten minutes, great retention, good lacing, aroma is made up of toffee, dark fruits, brown sugar, earthiness, grains, some alcohol, smokiness, and raisins, flavor is sweet at first, caramel and raisins make up the middle, finish is mostly brown sugar and some booze, somewhat hoppy at times but more dependent on malts, sweet, slightly dry, and hot mouthfeel, medium bodied, low carbonation, could have drank a few more glasses, enjoyed how thin this was at times while still being so creamy and flavorful, smooth for its style, glad to finally catch this one, always seemed to miss it, their best in my opinion, wish I could have had more, will be drinking again when I get the chance, recommended