Burley Barleywine
West Sixth Brewing Company

Poured from a 750mL bottle into a New Glarus snifter. Pours a deep chestnut brown with a finger of khaki colored foam head. Aromas of wet cardboard, sticky toffee, old leather and slightly piney and slightly juicy American hops. Taste follows with the caramel and toffee a little more upfront. Not quite as hoppy on the taste as it is on the nose. Still, very good. Sticky and piney. Strong but drinkable. Medium-full miuthfeel. It borders on syrupy but never quite gets there. Enough carnation perhaps to cut through that. Solid non-BA American barleywine.

 

Dark caramel in color with tan head. Nose is slightly boozy with a caramel or toffee. Nice burnt caramel flavor initially then a bit of tobacco. Good bitterness on back of throat. Then warmth hits.

 

 

 

Enjoyed from a growler via Eightball brewing company at the Party Source. This barley wine pours a deep murky brown with a thin head of dissipating off white foam that turns to a thin ring with light lacing. Nose of figs, plums, cherries, strong booze, and brown sugar. Flavors follow the nose with brown sugar and strong alcohol on all sides blending with a toffee and powdered date note followed by light hop bitterness that is seared in by strong alcohol keeping it all in check. Slick smooth mouth feel features moderate carbonation making this an easily quaffable brew. Finish is long and sweet with dates and brown sugars. Excellent. Would like to find this bottled so as to age it a bit. Substantial. A real treat!

Cheers

Aged at least a year. Slightly sweet toffee aroma, with dates, figs, and brown sugar adding complexity. Flavor is still on the sweeter side, sugary, with a hint of dark fruit tartness, plums, and a light bitterness that prevents it from being cloying. Decent beer getting better, but it could still use some age to develop the oxidation. The high abv gives it a cinnamon character.

 

 

 

The Burley Barley wine was dark in the glass with a hazy brown/mahogany color. Very little noticeable carbonation, it gave the appearance of a wine in the snifter. 12percent ABV you would think that this barley wine would reek of alcohol but its barely noticeable in aroma or taste. Smooth and sweet, the scent was the most disappointing as it was very weak in the nose. The taste was sweet, molasses and malt, perhaps a bit of raisin or dried fruit but not as strong or complex, as I had hoped. Overall it was very nice but not as tasteful as I anticipated.

 

As the West Sixth Brewery continues to roll out their winter offerings, this surprisingly robust option praises all-things-malt- wrapped in candied malt sweetness and decorated with fruit and spice. It's quite the package- well suited for Christmas!

With a hazy rust color of bronze, brown, and copper, the beer levels in the glass with low-lying carbonation and near-brandy stillness. the initial lace of foam collapses and is once again regenerated by a motivated swirl of the glass. With no real lacing to speak of, the beer prefers the brandy comparisons with a light sheen of legging that glosses the glass in its wake.

Fruit and malt strike the olfactories with savory and strong impressions. Toffee, sorghum, and molasses give a richly sweet scent while fruits of plumb, grape, fig, and cherry are caught somewhere between the plump ripe versions and the dried character of raisin and prune. Assertive rummy alcohols lurk in the backdrop and give an added note of complexity as the beer warms.

Strong sweetness of toffee, fruit, and dessert breads all weave together to give impressions of Christmas fruitcake. succulent dried fruits of cherries, apples, grapes, plumbs, dates, and raisins all take on rum-soaked character and seem to be saturated by spiced breads. Coffee cake laden with a cinnamon and pepper note adds a tinge of excitement just before the sharp and semi-citrusy hop bitterness signal closure.

Full bodied for sure- the light carbonation allows the weight of the beer to press firmly against the taste buds for the full saturation of sweet malts and seeping alcohols. With both succulent texture and lush maltiness, the beer lumbers across the palate and forces the mouth to enjoy the journey- causing a slower, sipping session to ensue. A cognac-like strength and taste lingers well into the next sip.

Burley Barleywine shows a ton of promise with its huge malty sweet taste and hearty texture. Yet it seems to lack the complexity and citrus balance for an American barleywine. But also lacks the grace, elegance, and maturity of English versions. It's caught mid stream and entices the dialogue of whether it's a blend of both worlds?.!