Eleven Below
Four Quarters Brewing Co.

 

Sampling a cellar temp 22 oz bottle poured into my snifter. The bottle was picked up at the brewery during the eclipse weekend. Been in my cellar for the past 4 weeks.
the beer pours a clear copper color but rests in my glass a much richer ruby hue. A creamy beige head rests on the surface with about .5 cm depth. This foam fades to a thin edge layer and not much else soon after the pour.
Aroma on this brew is some sweet toffee and hints of brown sugar with a little maple syrup. No hop character and not really boozy on the nose either.
First sip reveals a medium body with slightly sticky texture. very gentle and spacious carbonation. Beer feels like a barleywine.
Flavor is toffee and maple syrup with brown sugar, but weirdly not overly sweet. I dont get any hop note and the booze is present in only the faintest black pepper bite on the swallow. No warmth or fusol notes.
This barleywine pretty much hits the notes I would expect for a beer with high ABV and maple syrup added. Id buy it again, and am enjoying it, but it also isnt worth chasing, if that makes sense.

 

On tap at the brewery

Pours a med frothy semi rich off white head with moderate retention, nice soapy lacing, hazy orange red color

Nose sweet candy malt, toffee, caramel, also maple syrup, a little nutty with more candy syrup and candied apple, bit of earthy hop

Taste semi sweet with plenty of toasted caramel reddish malt, toffee and caramel, some maple syrup, candied apple with light fruity esters, some spicy hops with med bitterness, light warming smooth alcohol, finishes a little sweet and sticky

Mouth is med to fuller bod, led foamy smaller bubble carb, lent warming alcohol

Overall not bad but kinda meh, but nothing special, just a bunch of caramel malt, spicy hops, and a little maple syrup, not much depth, complexity, just kind sweet malts

Pours from the can a light murky brown, 1.5" off white head that slowly recedes, moderate lacing. Nose off the bat is oily, resinous hop, citrus oils, boozy fruit (cherries); some sweet aromas that I can be convinced are maple syrup, though that wouldn't be my first guess. Flavor is pretty balanced - there is a strong hop presence up front - earthy bitterness and citrus zest - but it thins out midpalate with more complex malt flavors. There's a fruity element (cherries again) and sweetness, along with some estery spice as it warms up. Finishes pretty balanced and never gets overly sweet or cloying. Again, hard to pick out a distinct maple note, but the flavor doesn't suffer from it. Mouthfeel is moderate, perhaps even light for the style, and the carbonation is bright enough to invite another sip. A nicely balanced beer.

Pint can - no date - purchased locally as a single. Poured into a snifter at 40°F.

Pours a foggy, translucent rusty orange-scarlet copper, topped with just a ring of big tan bubbles, that recede to a razor-thin collar. Very light in appearance.

Nose: Very little "barleywine" character here. Some grainy pale and crystal malts, big fruity ale yeast, and a noticeable hop presence that lends some nectarine, papaya, resinous pine, and citrus peel, with some floral undertones. I think we have an American barleywine here. No trace of maple.

Palate: Okay. This is through-and-through an American barleywine. I hate American barleywine. I'll try to be nice here. Greets the palate with grainy pale malt - quite pale, quite grainy, and then that classic West Coast caramel malt cones forward. Gritty. Immediately, it's quite hoppy. Big, resinous, spicy bittering hops lending pine, spicy leaves, and dried floral notes, with some underlying dried apricot and pithy grapefruit peel. Sweetness is very restrained - like that of some pale ales I've had. Still no maple. The finish itself is quite dry, hoppy, and bitter, lingering with resinous hops and cereal grains.

Mouthfeel/Body: The beer is full and weighted, but it's hardly sticky, certainly not cloying, and actually drinks with some ease and fluidity. Effervescence is moderate - not terribly lively, but definitely works, and it dries out very quickly with those bitter hops that dig in. Finishes clean with no malty linger.

Overall: I'm not a big fan of hoppy barleywine. Everyone who knows me knows that, because I don't shut up about it. For an American barleywine, this has one big thing going for it - it's not an IPA. The reason I don't like Bigfoot is because it's just a glorified triple IPA *aaaaand....DUCK!* but this finds balance in that tight little pocket between hoppy barleywine and imperial IPA. I'm disappointed by the lack of maple, and the super pale malt is a bit jarring, but it accomplishes something many brewers struggle with - identity and uniqueness. I'll definitely remember this one, and in its own, quirky, hoppy....American sort of way...it's actually not half bad. I didn't say great....but it's not bad.

 

Can. Hazy garnet red with lasting ring and island. Boozy earthy aroma with some fresh ripe cherry. Sweet but not cloying with some tangy fruity yeast but not too much. Boozy herbal with pretty strong pine and herbal and fruity bitterness. Stop just short of being cloying or medicinal. Full body. I was worried that this would be just another VT IPA disguised as another style, but it's not. Excellent sipper.

Can to snifter.
The appearance had a dark amber to ruddy brown color in the glass and the pour. A small cap of white foamy head glided off immediately. Just a little touch of wispy concave lace.
The aroma started with some sweet tobacco then maple wafers, light touch of toffee and caramels while bringing in soft hints of figs/slight dark fruits.
The flavor took all of those prior mentioned aromas to blend sweetly together but adding a touch of bitter grassy hops to it for decent balance. A mostly smooth aftertaste of maple coated biscuits, dark fruits and some tobacco.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a good sipping quality about it. Good carbonation along with some astringency. Finishes with some bitter tobacco leaf and a subtle glance of maple syrup.
Overall, well, it's definitely a barleywine, but American or English that seems to be a bit up in the air. Maple syrup is well integrated throughout to make this well worthy of coming back to.