Skofouke
Tired Hands Brewing Company

Thanks to Dan for this one. Poured at fridge temp. Pours an opaque orange/light brown with minimal head. The nose is hop dominated. Both pine and citrus peel notes come through for me. This is accompanied by notes of apple, grass, pineapple, and a bit of leather.

The taste is really nice. Definitely a hop monster here. Maybe more than Bigfoot. Dominated by pine needles and grapefruit peel. Very slight hint of caramel, along with leather, grass, and a touch of malts. This really comes through as a hoppy barleywine, and it's possibly even a bit too hoppy for me. Could definitely mellow out over time.

super dry on the finish. Aftertaste is citrus peel.

While not a murkbomb, exactly, this beer does pour with quite a bit of haze (no visible sediment). It's almost completely opaque, due at least in part to the brown-tinged dark orange color. Solid head production, retention, and lacing.

Very lovely aroma, featuring orange, pine, grape, flowers, and caramel playing together in a way quite reminiscent of Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. Hops are very prominent, suggesting an experience closer to a malty IIPA than a bitter American Barleywine, but we will see. The aroma lacks a bit in depth and complexity, but it's really, really lovely.

Really quite bitter up front, and delightfully so. I can see the argument for this being a massive WC-style IIPA, although I do get quite a bit of leather, bark, caramel, and pine quite appropriate for the ABW style. It may be somewhere in between; I'd call it more of a barleywine than 120 Minute, which carries more sweetness.

Tasting notes include pine, grapefruit peel, orange marmalade, caramel, bark, leather, resin. A touch medicinal, perhaps simply the high alcohol content coming through, but it's neither distracting nor unpleasant. There's enough hop flavor delivered to go along with the bitterness to make this more drinkable, perhaps, than a more traditional ABW, but I'm not sure I would put it in IPA territory, exactly.

Other reviews have criticized this beer for being a 'tweener, or for having an identity crisis. I think those are fair criticisms. More important to me is whether or not it succeeds: is it tasty, and is it a good "Hoppy Barleywine," which is how the brewery describes it? Yes, and yes. This is an interesting beer that really needs to be enjoyed in its own right, when you're in the mood not necessarily for a fireside slow-sipping barleywine, nor a boozy, malty IIPA, but when you're in the mood for something new, something different, something unique. Something THIS. Enjoy this beer when you want THIS beer, not something else.

(16 oz can, 11/17/22?; picked up in swap with The_Kriek_Freak... poured into my Trillium fat tulip)

L: clear amber liquid with perhaps a touch of polyphenol haze... head forms and falls, leaving a thin, glossy cap... the messy swath stays, but the liquid gets murkier after the remainder is poured out... the collar creeps up the glass, but no lace

S: tropical fruit blend/cocktail with dried fruit and pureed nectar nuances (more the former?); the fruit expression has a bit of Turkish Delight going on... really 'round' sugary or cordial quality... I'm not familiar with the scent of palm sap, but... rather intense, concentrated aromas and, with the gradual emergence of raw ethanol, even more intense... slight woody/leafy accent with more poured in... intense at the expense of dimension... bottom heavy(?) if that makes sense; projecting syrupy slop

T: grassy/pithy-bitter thread through an impenetrable sea of unfermentables... essential oils and grain alcohol dumped into wort

F: remarkably not too hot, at first... the bitterness accents an increasingly spicy hot booze building... kind of stupid-thick, lit luscious swell (heavy in wheat?) in its body up front, luckily thinned out in the finish, leaving little chewiness, having been swept away by the hot oil treatment

O: I see some comments regarding this being a WCIPA, and I get it, but what's with the medicinal sharpness and pastry stout thiccness?!... and assault of flavorish things... some will love this, but it seems like it's having an identity crisis... a good beer should not make me take measured, cautious sips... I can't believe they packaged this; I'd be embarrassed (2126)

 

I agree with the comment that this beer is more IPA than Barleywine. In that context, it's a decent American/West Coast IPA.

Tired Hands released this hoppy beast in November, Skofouke. Thanks again to @Braunmeister_1943 for posting here, I would not have known about it otherwise. In his review he stated that if tasted blind, he would call it a sweet WCIPA. Good call. I am enjoying the caramel and short bread sweetness that provide the backbone. The hops have some onion, bitter citrus, and lingering pine resin that aren't quite as appealing. Not exactly what I was looking for but this is enjoyable nonetheless.

Bought as part of a 4 pack from my local distributor.

L- hazy amber.

S - slight toffee notes with some hoppy
aroma.

T- A little bitter, some fruit sweetness.
piney hop aftertaste.

F- smooth with very fine carbonation.

O- Unique. Very different from other
Barleywines. If I had tried this blind
I’d say it’s a sweet WCIPA.