Life Volume 4
Breakside Brewery - SE Taproom

on my way to completing this epic series, courtesy mostly of a good friend who scored the lot, brought this edition over for the superbowl, and its delicious, perhaps a tad less distinctive than some of the others have been, but i like it, i like them all, and its cool how these are not barrel aged, you taste more from the grain this way, really nice balance to this with the yeast and even some hops still appreciable, but it also seems lighter, its sweet yes but it isnt heavy, the malt isnt crazy deep or complex, and the color is more pale than some of the others have been, not that they all need to be compared to each other. gentle amber colored with soft haze and a patchy tan head of huge popping bubbles that slowly settle back. the nose is tight when its cold, not alcoholic at all surprisingly, with baked warmth and a little herbal hop thing, some biscuit, golden raisin, and breakfast bread, simple in some ways, a honey thing happening, not minimal, but it does open up a lot in the flavor and as it warms, where some earthy spiciness is appreciable, dried red apple and granola notes too, and a toffee richness all through it despite its body being a little lesser in this style space, really not much exposed alcohol in this, a little late bitterness making it seem fresh even though it does have some time in the bottle now, no real oxidation either, raisin to finish, some light brown sugar linger too, almost delicate for a barleywine overall, impressive but i think i prefer the deeper grain complexity of some of the earlier versions...

 

Draft at Breakside - Beaverton. Dark, clear amber, ring of bubbly beige head. Malty aroma, woody, light savory notes. Taste is malty, sweet, leathery and root beer (?). So nice to enjoy a Barleywine without all the booze and adjuncts.

Look: Dark amber in the glass and mahogany on the pour, which yields a silky-looking khaki head to form, build, and hold as a pillow, leaving great lacing behind on the glass
Aroma: Caramel, piloncillo, dried dark fruit, molasses, light earthiness, slight woody notes, red apple skins, and toffee. No alcohol detectable on the nose
Taste: Caramel, wood, raisins, and dried figs open it up and these meld for a moment before some fruity esters trickle in with apple being the predominant figure. Toffee, piloncillo, and molasses shine in the middle both separately and together as the dried dark fruit continues to appear here and there and closes with some nice earthy notes – fresh rain on soil, etc. and just a kiss of ethanol
Mouthfeel: Full, smooth, medium-high carbonation, and very smooth on the finish
Overall: This is another delicious iteration in this series. I didn’t think I’d see any more past the first three so glad that I did and although it’s a warm day out, I knew this was no time to fear a barleywine. A plethora of rich, deep, and tasty malt comes to the table here along with some nice fruity esters and a nice earthy backbone to keep it from actually being sweet. Also, like others in this series, dangerously smooth and drinkable at 9.5% and even as it warms, it’s hard to pick up much alcohol. Once again, this is top notch stuff

 

Thanks, Chris! This is a well made nut brown ale meets barleywine.

A deep mahogany red with a dense, brown head with good retention and lacing. The nose is dry, nutty, toffee rich with caramel, toasted almond sounds, walnuts, a little brown sugar, fermented out quite wonderfully. The palate opens mildly sweet with buckwheat, nutty, toffee, dark caramel. Rich grain flavor but on a light and supple body. Drying , mildly tannic finish. Excellent.