Volumes Of Funk - Funky Barleywine
Hops & Grain Brewing

 

Pours dark brown with reddish hues on draft. Head dissipates to a fine light tan ring that persists throughout.

Aroma is somewhat muted, but dark fruits and malts linger. Taste is subtle and sweet. Nothing striking, medium body, but strong carbonation creates an enjoyable mouthfeel.

Overall very well done, somewhat dry but well balanced Barleywine. I'd have it again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: Pours a slightly hazy yet almost opaque dark amber in color with minimal amounts of visible carbonation and some garnet red highlights. The beer has a half finger tall slightly fizzy beige head that quickly reduces to a medium sized patch of very thin film with a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate presence of sweet toffee malt aromas underneath a much stronger smell of brett, sour green apple, and some barnyard funk.

T: Not overly sour, this beer is more tart and funky than sour likely from the more heavy initial sweetness of the barleywine. Upfront there is a moderate amount of toffee malt sweetness which quickly picks up some lighter green apple tartness and barnyard funkiness from the brett. There is a bit of a hint of a spicy earthy hop but there is not very much bitterness to this beer at all.

M: Medium to full bodied with light to moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly syrupy with a light amount of acidic prickliness in the finish.

O: This was an extremely interesting and unusual brew - of course, the fact that it was the result of a "mistake" by the brewer that was kept means there is something worth trying here. I have never tried a funky barleywine before but based on this example, I would certainly try another.

Wasn't really sure how I wanted to classify this beer - American Wild Ale or American Barleywine since it is really a hybrid of the two styles (I chose American Barleywine).