Old Devil's Tooth Barleywine
Sockeye Grill & Brewery

Poured from a 12 oz can into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Cloudy copper/amber pour with 2 fingers of creamy off-white head. Thick lacing.

S: Sweet and malty. Sugars, earthy hops, and bread.

T.F: Sweet caramel malts and bread to start. Rich and toasty... toffee, brown sugar, and piney hops. Earthy and a bit medicinal... sweetness only partially balanced by the hops. Medium to think bodied.... creamy carbonation and oily/sticky on the tongue. Sweets and pine at the finish.

O: A big, rich, and flavorful American Barleywine. Compares well to Sierra Nevada's 'Bigfoot' or Stone's 'Old Guardian'.

 

Clear amber with two fingers of cream color head. Splotches of lace.
Smell is heavy malt with some dank hops. Taste is smooth and balanced with lots of depth of flavors.
Mouthfeel is heavy with good carbonation. The finish is slightly dry and well balanced.
Overall a stellar Barleywine. You must try this if you enjoy big beers.

 

Draft at Cole Rd brewpub. Initial assault of malt, alcohol becomes more prevalant s it warms. Amber body with thin soapy head. Right in the wheelhouse for a barley wine

A properly cellared six month old can, poured into a Fremont small snifter. Poured a medium to dark red orange with a half finger light khaki head with good retention and lots of nice lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, tea, fresh and dried dark fruit; hints of a red ale profile. Flavor is pleasantly mellow caramel malt, fresh and dried plums, figs, raisins, nuts (lightly peanutty), finishes drier and maltier with a lingering strong hop bitterness. Nice creamy medium to heavy bodied. An unexpectedly tasty barleywine with very well integrated and mellow flavors, the malt and fruit balance well. A bit hot in the finish, which also leaves the hop bitterness a bit stark, but with remnants of the smooth flavors leading into the finish, so all is forgiven. A nice, smooth barleywine that has aged so nicely in the can that I wish Ihad bought a few more, since the brewery is a day away.I'll be back.

thanks to boisebeerguy85 for this as an extra. no dating anywhere on the can, but its bright red with a sockeye salmon across a diamond on the label. poured into a central waters snifter

a- pours a murky ruby amber color with a bit of off-white head. carbonation seems on the low end. no light shows through. a nice looking barleywine

s- definite hop quality hits my nose first, then the bready malt takes over and the sweetness starts. caramel, prune, brown sugar.

t- follows the nose. initial earthy hop resin, then the sweetness comes again. lots of caramel, prune/raisin, bready malt. finish comes back to the hop resin. very sweet, but tasty and getting better as it warms.

m- not as sticky thick as some in its style, but it still has that mouth-coating oily quality that I enjoy. carbonation is a tad on the lower end of the spectrum, but I dont mind it as it seems to allow the finish to really hang around.

overall, I really enjoy this beer. I dont know that I have ever had a big 10%+ barleywine out of a can, and a I initially had reservations, but I really enjoyed this beer. I dont know how it would age in a can, having never come across something like this for my cellar, but I want some more so I can find out. Too bad its no where near my distribution. An awesome extra with a great trader and something I would seek out again.

 

 

 

 

 

Murky mahogany appearance, medium thick tan foam that quickly dissipates after the pour. The nose has a strong mix of caramel malt and herbal, pine tinged hops. I like this level of hop intensity for the style, the aroma is reminiscent of Bigfoot.

The first sip has a doughy, cookie like maltiness. It's faintly dry and not too sweet, and the piney hops balance nicely. Alcohol gives a bit of warmth at the back, as the taste lingers long after the finish. Mouthfeel holds up decently, perhaps a bit thin but that might just be the softness of the carbonation.

Overall a nice Barleywine with good qualities, but otherwise nothing is too exciting/amazing. Good potential here, and a little more refinement could make it top notch. Worth a try!

 

 

A: A deep ruby brown body with a two finger dark brown head.

S: There is a very rich roasted grain aroma. It comes off as a rich caramel and toffee. Very deep and very delicious smelling.

T: There is intense bitterness and caramel bite in the beginning. The flavors blend nicely and are consistent throughout the taste.

M: Huge body. Very thick and silky. The carbonation is very low.

O: Very good beer. Worth getting if you can.

 

Had @ ALEfort last weekend in Boise Idaho during the Treefort festival.
aroma is strong with a little fruit showing in it.
appearance- red with haze
taste- heavy flavor that is sweet
palate- heavy and bitter high in ahl.
overall- I just am not a good judge of barleywine. It is hot and cold so I don't feel right fully judging.

Have I mention how cool sockeye is though. Great crew and great beers overall. Try them....@boisebeer

From notes, sampled 12/26.

Latest 2011 release. 550ml swing-top hand bottle from the brewery, poured into a tulip shaped nonic.

A: Pours a cloudy amber color with hints of orange and murky brown. Fluffy off-white head and good head lacing.

S: Dry citrus hops and a hefty malt backbone. Spices, orange, papaya. Decent floral and herbal semi-sweet bouquet.

T: Flash of toffee but subdued sweetness, there is a slight pungent hop presence, with some pine and grassiness to accompany the caramel malts. Good medium bitterness for a barleywine.

MF: Semi chewy medium-full body. Light alcohol character.

O: A great winter ale in my opinion.

Received as an extra from JohnGalt1 in a recent trade. Thanks a bunch, a great trade! My bottle is a 12oz-er dated 7/9.

Appearance- Pours a dark brown with about one finger of light tan head. Not quite as dark as I was expecting but solid levels of carbonation and leaves some lacing down the side of the glass as well. Head dies down to some minimal amounts of trace over the surface of the beer.

Smell- Hmm, pretty intriguing nose. A surprising amount of citrusy hops come through in the nose with lots of grapefruit and even a touch of pine coming through. However, this fragrance is challenged almost immediately by a caramelly sweetness that comes through from what must be a heavy malt backbone. Fairly complex and makes me want to give it a try.

Taste- Again a surprising amount of citrusy grapefruit and some pine needle come through right off the bat on the palate. Chased almost immediately by lots of malt sweetness and ends on a mildly drying note from the hops with warming alcohol showing through also. Found it to be a fairly intriguing dance between the hops and malt sweetness yet again but overall thought it to be a rather fruity, hoppy barleywine.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability- I will admit, I found the mouthfeel to be somewhat of a letdown. It just wasn't as thick as I had hoped. I found it to be a touch watery for a barleywine and as such it hurt the drinkability for me, as I always find thin high gravity beers to allow the alcohol to show through a touch more than I like.

Overall, a pretty solid barleywine and one that I was very happy I was so generously given the opportunity to try given the limited nature of the beer. The one weakness for me on this one was the mouthfeel. I would still suggest giving it a try if you have access to it however.