Moon Dog Barleywine
Big Dog's Draft House

A- chest brown in color with a thin soapy head, eye catching lacing though

S- malty, brown sugar, molasses, and dried fruit

T- starts malty with molasses, fig, and subtle chocolate notes, hops come through toward finish, spicy alcohol flavors subtle throughout

M- overall a smooth full bodied brew, though has sticky moments in aftertaste and some alcoholic heat at finish

D- balanced and mellow barley wine, even alcohol is flavorful, riniculously drinkable ;)

Clear dark brown in color with burgandy highlights. Nice 1.5" tan colored head. Decent lacing develops through the session. The aroma is sweet as caramel and malt are strong. The flavor followed the nose as sweet malt dominates, with caramel, alcohol, and hints of vanilla.

This was surprising lighter in body (towards medium on my scale) than other barleywines. Mouthfeel was creamy and smooth, and finishes with a short malty tone. Not bad drinkability. Worth a try.

Sampled on nitro-tap at the brewpub (this might be the first time I have seen a barley wine served on nitrogen tap).

This barley wine poured a very dark brown color with very creamy, light tan foam that was very persistent and also coated the glass well. The smell was fruity and slightly vinous, with notes of dried fruit. A pleasant aroma to be sure. The taste was fruity and lightly vinous with a light sweetness. It was richly malty with a bit of grape skins flavor and with a very hoppy finish, with the the bitterness of resinous NW hops. The mouthfeel was very smooth and creamy with medium-full body and low carbonation, and it was warming. The aftertaste was sweet and fruity and hoppy all at once in a pleasant way. This was a very nice, and somewhat out of the ordinary (perhaps because of the nitro-tap) barley wine. I enjoyed it, and had more than one during this Las Vegas trip.

Presentation: Sampled on draft at Big Dog’s Brewing Co./Draft House as part of a Sampler during a visit with fellow BA UncleJimbo.

Listed on the large wall sign that has the names of some 12 or so house brews as ‘Moon Dog Barleywine’.

Appearance: Muddied chestnut brown with a turbid looking light tan head. Murky sludge body was a little off-putting at first, it even looked like the yeasty end of a Cask ale, but actually the stark “could not care less about how I look” appearance somehow became an attractive quality.

Nose: Sweet malts with bold high end alcohol. A light hop character punctuates in the back end. Some Devon toffee as it warms to room temperature.

Taste: A malty start, warming with some heat on the upper mouth. Chewy malts and more malts. Light toffee middle and a middling hop bitterness in the back end. Took some getting used to but it grew on me.

Mouthfeel: Thick malty bill, heavy alcohol, harsh yet rewarding once accustomed. Warming and coating on the throat. Definitive Barleywine feel.

Drinkability: A short sipping brew, even given the fact that this was presented in a small sampler. By this time though I had drunk quite a few beers and some of the higher end strength samples that Big Dog brew, as such this one accompanied me slowly as I watched UncleJimbo loose yet more money on the Video Poker. Sips well.

Overall: A very English-style Barleywine I thought, brooding at times, malty and warming it benefits from the 9.3% alcohol.