Bass No.1 Barley Wine
Museum Brewing Company / White Shield Brewery

Although not styled as the No. 1 this is supposed to be the same beer. Label says it is the Bass Museum Ale Harvest Ale 1987. Nip bottle poured into a tulip.

A = Clear mostly garnet hue with slight brownish tinge, much like an old madeira wine, only very slight carbonation, but about as much as would be expected from a bottle of this age After a couple minutes it is a still liquid.

S = Prunes, maple syrup, figs, walnuts, very light hints of almond and vanilla, sweet maple fudge candies. This is a very superior smelling aged barleywine. I could happily just smell this for a good long while.

T = Vanilla, maple candies, almond paste, light pecan and walnut flavors. Perhaps just a little too watery at midpalate, but otherwise superb.

M = Medium-heavy body, good mouthcoating but not great, luxurious on the tongue but maybe just a tad bit too watery.

D = For an old barleywine, this goes down very, very easily. If it were available and I didn't know it was a strong ale, I could drink this all night.

had on 3 different occasions, 1902 vintage. .. deep prune, sherry, oxidation, chocolate, soy .. rich, still fantastic .. best beer on the planet, yo.

Huge thanks to ratebeer's very own Blazer06, Zack, for making this send-off tasting even more special than it is already. Wow! Big bottle of 1902 barleywine with over sized clumpy looking black wax over the cork. The cork broke up so this is poured via the help of some cheese cloth. It pours muddy dark brown pond water with no head. The aroma is water logged wood, some cardboard, sweet malts, booze, sherry and then aged figs and molasses. The taste starts sweet with thick sweet maltiness, a nice level of caramel candy and then rolling into fig sweetened earthiness, aged dried cherries smashed into wet cardboard and smooth oak. It ends with wet wood, cardboard, ripe sugary cherries and caramel. Fantastic!

Here I sit on my 40th birthday and I figured I would open up something special. Lets hope this one aged as nicely as I did! Nip size bottle from the 80's (the person I got it from did not know the exact year).

Poured a dark, deep and cloudy brownish/amber color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, toffee, dark fruits (raisins and plums), vanilla, and had a light sherriness to it. Very, very light oxidation that did not detract from the aroma. Tastes of caramel, toffee, dark fruits, a little vinous, vanilla, and lightly earthy.

Wow, this one aged very nicely. I wish I have more of these gems.

Notes from and tasted on (well, I can't tell you that as that would give away my B-Day, but it was in '07).