Barleywine
Stoneface Brewing Co.

Sampling a cellar temp 500 ml bottle poured into my snifter. This is a 2022 vintage that I purchased at the brewery.
The beer pours a rich mahogany color and almost no head, although I finally get a dense beige foam of under .5cm with the end of an aggressive pour. This foam becomes an edge layer pretty quickly after the glass is sitting on the table.
The aroma is fairly sweet and malt driven. I get brown sugar and some raisin notes mixing with a little toffee. No hop character and the ABV seems pretty well hidden at this point.
First sip reveals a medium body with a smooth yet coating texture. Doesnt really feel sticky, although I expect it to with each sip, its a little bit of a weird combo, but also feels nice. Carbonation is very fine and fairly gentle on my palate. The physical traits actually make this an easier drinking beer than I anticipated.
Flavor is similar to the nose.
I get some rich toffee and brown sugar and then some toasted dark bread and raisins again. Here I do get some black peppery bitey booze and a little bit of warming on the swallow. The pepper bite is what lingers after each sip.
This beer isnt overly complex and doesnt have barrels or adjuncts. I find that it works quite well, very glad I picked this up when we visited the brewery.

 

 

 

 

Pours a slowly rising to 1 finger off-white foamy bubbly head, moderate retention and soapy lacing, iced tea brownish tan auburn color

nose plenty of sweet reddish toasty malt, a touch biscuity, plenty of caramel toffee, toasty with a little bread crust, fair amount of fruity esters, hint of earthy hop a bit nutty, fair sweetness

Taste brings big malts again, lots of toasted malts, a little bread crust, sweet a bit syrupy, heavy sweetness, plenty of caramel and rich toffee, a little nutty and biscuity, smooth rich caramel and a touch of alcohol warmth, a bit of earthy spicy hops with a touch of pine, a bit of chocolate in the middle, fair fruity esters as well some from hops and some from yeast, and maybe a little malt derived, rich toasty reddish Vienna or Munich like malt as well, alcohol brings a touch of spicy phenols but smooth alcohol, medium to a bit lighter bitterness, sticky sweet finish with a little alcohol warmth late, plenty of sweet malt lingering

Mouth is fuller bod, rich chewy like, fair sweet syrupy feel, medium to a bit lower carb, light warming alcohol

Overall not bad, very malt rich like a good barleywine should, but the males don't seem to blend as well for some reason, and the hop flavors stick out a bit, I can't pick out what's wrong but I just feel like this didn't blend nicely to a smooth balanced beer, maybe some age will round it out

Bottle from Harvest Market dated 2019
Solid dark brown in color with a bubbly tan head that slowly recedes. Fruity caramel and toffee aroma and flavor countered by light earthy hops and a bit of warming alcohol. Seems like there's barely enough hops to counter the malt sweetness. Lingering alcohol presence with a sweet maltiness.

I stopped by the Brewery yesterday and had a 6oz pour of this. Tasted promising, so I got a 0.5l bottle for later ($9.00). Well, later is now! Label indicates it's currently at 10.7% ABV.

Poured some into a snifter... It's a very deep, but clear, chestnut/mahogany color. Has light, scattered carbo within, and an off-white ring of foam at the rim. There are some miniscule bubbles trying to cover the surface as well, with limited lacing. Aroma has solid malty notes, with caramel and brown sugar being most noteworthy, along with a touch of choco. It is rather smooth, with minimal prickle, and the body is a bit more than a standard medium.

Flavor comes through with more lightly sweet caramel maltyness, caramelized brown sugar, some nutty notes, and subtle choco. Has some mild bitterness and very restrained hopping. Finishes a tad on the dry side. A solid, warming english-style barleywine. Prosit!

4.13/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

2130

Pours mahogany with thin cap of tan bubbles that fades to zero. Aroma is sweet malty cooked sugar, light roast and mild dark fruits. Flavor follows with just a hint of (tasty) booze. This is one of my favorites of the style - not too hoppy, not too sweet, no barrel aging... really nice!

 

Poured into a 16 oz wide Snulip glass bottled recently. Pours a beautiful mahagony with a finger off white head that leaves thin streaks of lace as it slowly settles into a thin collar of bubbles around the edges of the glass. 4.5

Smell is biscuit, brown sugar, cocoa, dates, almonds, fruity esters, cocoa, oaky vanilla, and some hints of warming alcohol really nice. 4.5

Taste follows brown sugar, almonds, dark fruit, chocolate, woody vanilla, and just a hint of alcohol that warms your entire soul and makes you crave yet another gentle sip. 4.75

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, soft carbonation, slightly watery yet some stickiness, and at 10.7% a dipper that you want to let warm to in courage all the complex flavors to open up and get even better and more pronounced. 4.5

Overall this is a style that really got me into craft beer and honestly this is one of the best I have had in a very long time. Highly recommend this one. 4.5

From the 550 ml. bottle acquired at the brewery on 11/18/18. Sampled 11/18/18.

Dark brown to near black pour with a modest and fading cream colored head.

The aroma is more like a cocoa or chocolate character, which, to me, is odd for a barley wine. Roasted malts. Low to no hop profile.

About a medium and chewy body.

As for the taste, I get the same sweet chocolate characters but not the barley grain character common to the style. But the alcohol is buried so this could be dangerous.

 

On tap at the brewery

Limited release for Portsmouth beer week. Very light barleywine. Good flavor with a nice malty backbone. Not a lot of heat. Had at Coat of Arms.