Gilded Grove - Madeira Barrel
Tree House Brewing Company

Look - caramel copper color with nice rimming and lacing
Smell and taste - malty caramel raisin slight red wine and apple
Feel - medium full body with a light carb
Overall - complex and enjoyed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay. Nothing more nothing less.

Notes of honey, tannins, cherry, red grape on the nose. Rather floral.

Surprisingly thick and syrupy on the palate.

Tasting notes are similar to the nose, with a surprisingly floral/fruity note to go along with honey, wheat, white dough, and caramel.

My recent Tree House haul didn’t bring me too many new beers, but unfortunately I’m already at the end of the run. This one sounds really fun, I love any wine barrel aged beers, and Madeira is not too common of a barrel. Let’s pop it open and see what it’s all about

Pours a mostly clear amber red with a finger of creamy off white head that fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

The nose is quite sweet here, but the fruity characters keep it from being cloying. I’m picking up on aromas of sweet toffee, orange marmalade, sweet red wine, baked apple, honey, molasses, burnt sugar, light caramel, and raisin

It has even more of a wine presence in taste and it’s less sweet. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting sweet red wine, toffee, dates, dark bread, old leather, smooth oak, sweet caramel, orange marmalade, and pear skin. The swallow brings notes of dessert wine, baked apple, toffee, dark bread, raisin, dark caramel, walnut, burnt sugar, dry oak, and pear skin

A medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth beer. Finishes neutral and nicely balanced

This isn’t anything mind blowing, but it’s damn good for a wine barrel aged Barleywine. I bet a Port barrel variant would be good

Clear dark amber with a purple hue and a fat finger of light-tan head. Great retention for the style, with sloppy sheets of lacing.

Restrained but complex aroma of oak, stale hops, caramel, vanilla and purple wine grapes.

Similar mix of sweet dessert wine and caramel against the oak and earthy hops, along with a distinct nuttiness.

Sticky feel on a relatively light body, with tight carbonation.

Not my favorite mix of flavors here,
but the stale hops are a nice contrast to the madeira.

Pours out a clear amber with a finger of light tan foam. Looks pretty good. Nose illicits mental images of heavily sherried Speyside Scotch. Oak, caramel, toffee, boozy candied figs and dates and raisins. The nose is complex, but slight. Taste reveals a bit more. Classic barleywine quality. Caramel and toffee and oak to start, followed by big raisin presence. Almost grape juice, but not quite. Just like the nose, it alludes more towards sherry, especially sweeter ones like Pedro Ximenez. Some chocolate in there as well. Mouthfeel is full bodied. A little silky, which is nice. Smooth drinking for a 10%. Some cloying, but not much. Overall an enjoyable brew. I always like to see unique barrel aging in beer. I see it way more in scotch and have been eagerly awaiting somebody to brave the storm and try something like a Russian Imperial Stout aged in PX casks or something of the nature.

Had on tap at Tewksbury. Pours clear, reddish brown in color with one quarter inch head. Taste is big oak,toffee, and caramel, with a touch of red wine. Heavy body, moderate carbonation, slightly sweet. Nice and complex barleywine that definitely leans English style. Not one I am sure I would get again but good.