Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine (4th Annv)
Northgate Brewing

750ml bottle. I purchased this once I heard the brewery was ceasing operations. Kept in the frig.
Amber brown colored body, with a reddish tint when back lit. Brief beige head upon pouring but this does not stick around. Any lacing left behind tends to slide back down into the body.
Aroma strays a fair distance from the glass. Lots of burnt caramel, dark fruit, and bourbon barrel. Smells semi sweet.
Taste is a good base malt, with a swirl of dates, prunes, figs, and raisins competing for space with the sweeter burnt caramel. The bourbon barrel adds additional alcohol vapors and oak and slight vanilla.
Thicker mouth feel, with a syrupy texture. Good carbonation for type.
This beer has aged well in the bottle, with expressive aroma and a well rounded mix of flavors. Gently warming but not overly boozy. I tried pairing the beer with a cinnamon milk chocolate bar and the combo worked very well together.

sensation barrel aged barleywine, one of the best in the style ive ever had, and something a bit different. also, this is leagues better than anything else i have had from northgate. the packaging is sexy too, unique, screened on pink label, neat art, wine bottle, foil wrap on top, just looks really fancy and does justice to the delicious liquid. deep red in color, this pours very active for the style, lots of thick rising head on it, lasting and lacey too. aroma is super old wet oak to me, more wood than bourbon, a little charred, but more the wood in a decomposition phase. with that, the english malts are nutty and earthy, not overly sweet, but with a little brown sugar and toffee going on. the flavor is amazing too, with more of the sweet bourbon and vanilla coming out. what makes this different to me is the malt. it has elements of a good english brown ale, but also has this really neat dry roasted character, not charred or dark grainy or anything, but a baked sort of vibe, more flavorful than most and without needing to rely on a ton of residual sugar to give it the taste. awesome with the wet old wood and the english yeast, which is still quite active here it appears. nice full body, smooth almost cognac character to the finish, very regal and refined, and i like the carbonation being so prominent here too. this is special beer, as good as the style gets for me. it was the standout from an impossibly heady session. thanks to my homie for giving me a bottle from his personal cellar, lucky to have friends like him. this is worth seeking out for the barleywine drinkers!

L: pours hazy, murky, dirty tea brown under a 1" light tan cap with moderate to fair retention. Streams of tiny bubbles leisurely rise to join the cap.

S: bourbon, vanilla, caramel and molasses with a hint of faint funk and traces of fruit come into focus.

T: Its very creamy in the mouth with dark brown sugar, vanilla, fig, alcohol, bourbon and a slight tartness on the finish. Hop flavors are low and bitterness is medium low but they come out more as it warms. The malt flavors are high and mildly sweet with balance coming from the alcohol and a slight assist from the hops.

F: This is a creamy, chewy beer with medium carbonation that is very soft and luscious.

 

My third 750 barrel-aged beer from Northgate, following the meh old ale & the surprisingly excellent stout. The tie breaker? A night cap split with my wife.

The pour is the same muddy reddish brown that I associate with Central Waters barrel-aged barleywine, & I can only hope for the same results. The nose is ripe fruit with minimal barrel. Let’s hope that doesn’t bleed into the taste.

Bourbon Barrel Barleywine tastes dirty. Dirty caramel, soiled brown sugar, pears & plums that weren’t washed properly; I fear cholera. Bourbon is on the down low & giving off vanilla in the beer’s middle earth. Finishes like a fruit sandwich. Half a bomber of this is about right.

Hung jury; we needed more Jack Nicholas & less Tom Cruise. Neither the hot mess of the old ale nor the sublime grace & beauty of the stout, this one is just pretty good.

Pours amurky rusty brown color with a thin fresh khaki head. Smell is caramel malt , wood, dark fruit, slight whisky notes. taste has dark fruits like dates,raisins, and plums, it mixes with sweet malts had some ash and smoke /wood and finishes with a slight mellow bourbon taste. Mouth feel was fruity and sweet and well carbed ,ABV well hidden. This BA BW was on the thin side on texture and barrel a bit to sweet, and the fruit was a bit ripe, none the less it was not bad, Price point was very good. Like Barleywines i just was not digging this one