Vicennial: Father Time
River North Brewery

 

 

strong barleywine - drink slow and enjoy - very strong malt taste

 

 

Very sweet overall, equal parts caramel and toffee plus even more brown sugar. The barrel notes aren't shy, plenty of smooth brown liquor with hints of vanilla and very faint wood. Nothing subtle and not much nuance, but this is sticky, drippy, and delicious.

28 April 2020 - Beer #80

Corona Day #47

Price: $19.99 on Tavour

Appearance: 3 - root beer brown with nearly no head and no action. Looks almost flat. Some small yeast floaties in there. Eww.

Nose: 4 - no barrel. Smells more like a barleywine than an old ale. Not bad, but it's a shame; I like old ales.

Taste: 5 - VERY tasty. This is not an old ale, but it's an outstanding barleywine. Super sweet, but just right.

Mouth: 5 - sticky, thick, chewy, and round. My lips are getting stuck together.

Overall: 5 - big comeback after a slow start. Probably could have aged it another 17 years, but drinking really well right now.

Cheers!

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a sample tulip glass.

Look is dark opaque brown.

Aroma is whiskey malt.

Taste is super intense whiskey malt.

Delicious.

2017 vintage, barrel aged old ale... Dark caramel colored beer, kinda like the coating on a caramel apple... Solid old ale, with lots of fruits, like dates, figs, and apples, sweetly shellacked with caramel and soaked in booze... Medium-weight body has a little tingle of tart, but is mostly sweetly mellow and juiced with soft, dark fruits like plums and prunes, and aired out a bit with oaky tannins... Reminds me of a caramel apple soaked in prune bourbon... Super-groovy drinking experience...

 

these guys have set out to make a series of beers that are meant to be aged for up to 20 years, which is ambitious to say the least. aside from a couple of esoteric english ales, this length of cellar time is usually reserved for lambic. even the big stouts dont generally go that long, so i was intrigued to try this old ale and check it out for myself. i totally get it too, after drinking this one, how it might hold up over so much time. its deep bronze in color, pushing dark brown without the light, and giving rise to a short tan head that settles back quickly, leaving this looking thick and still in the glass like a dark cognac. it smells incredibly boozy, but pleasant too. sure its fusel alcohol abundant, but there is a lot more to it, rich whiskey, baked bran and fruitcake, and hints of dates, raisins, and figs. the booze seems to weave in and out of all the complexity, not always at the forefront, but sort of always there through the whole drink, which is very long. i get more roasted and deeper darker grain than i am used to in the style, dark chocolate notes and burnt edges of carrot cake cooked in cast iron. it does sort of have a timeless complexion already, and surprisingly little yeast character for what it is and how strong it is. i can see a little oxidation flattering this, like in a good english barleywine, and i could see the sweetness coming down over time to reveal more wood and vanilla. i think the bread crusts and toasted chestnut and honey aspects are built to last too, this is full bodied and really sturdy. a cool beer and a really neat project. i hope to get a chance to drink the other beers in the series, and i hope i can try this again in 20 years!