3 Ton Barleywine
Wander Brewing

Had on tap. Cloudy orangey brown body, white sudsy head with streaks of lazy lacing. Dry barley up front with caramel malt aromas, booze, earth and dried dark fruit. Taste is more monotone with huge dry barley and booze leading, dried dark fruit, graininess, dry earth and herbal hops round out. Feel is dry and with a pleasantly robust dry finish, barley and hops shape the most. A large presence for a body. Good but not sure why it would be for the holidays other that it is a sipper

 

Served in 12oz stemmed glass. Poured a very cloudy dark amber color with about 1/3 inch of tan head that had moderate retention and low lacing.

The aroma was very malt forward, as expected, but exhibited little of the barrel that this years version was blended with.

Same on the tongue, low hops, lots of malt, some sweetness, but the effects of blending fresh, aged, and barrel-aged variants weren't noticeable.

The body was about as expected, perhaps thinner than is expected in the style, and had a semi-sweet finish.

Drinkability was good, the beer went down smoothly and easily.

Overall, a nice try, but it fall short of some previous vintages. Still, it's worth your time if you see it.

This is the 2018 bottle. Poured into a tulip glass.
Pours much more muddled looking than expected. Held up to light, it looks like an Arnold Palmer, mahogany and orange. Light khaki capped head that disappeared mostly with just a few bubbles left on the side.
Citrus, caramel and toffee on the nose. After letting it warm up a bit a doughy, raisin bread appears too. Hints of bourbon and coconut too.
There is a lot going on here. To start-figs, caramel, orange oil, raisins, and small hints of wet cardboard. Continuing, earthiness and pine, vanilla and oak. No booze or heat.
On the heavy side of a medium mouthfeel and slick. Low carbonation but enough to wash away each sip.
I have mixed feelings on this one. It’s too muddled on look and taste for me. Nothing stands out or takes over which is good and bad. Give me more caramel and fig, more bourbon and barrel and this would be a better beer.

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a dark caramel amber with a fine, one finger light khaki head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, hay, raisins, hints of citrus. Flavor is caramel malt, dark dried fruit reduction, herbs; dry grassy hop finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A really different flavor for a barleywine, although the malt is somewhere between an American and English style. There are dried fruit notes, but no distinct fruit flavors. Hop bitterness in the finish belies its American style roots. Flavors are subtle, but hard to parse but I really liked the way this turned out. A bit boozy and herbal to start, the hops kick in at the end and are a good complement to the herb and dark fruit malt. Interesting. Not sure how this one will age, but I'm going to try to find another bottle, despite not aging hopped barleywines any more; this one has potential.

Holy holiday barleywine, Batman! This is the 2017 version of what seems to be an annual changing recipe. This one is "50% Ale - 50% Ale aged in Bourbon barrels." Clear dark amber with a decent pile of foam in the tall goblet. Quite aromatic and reminds me of Yukon Jack.

This stuff is really quite bitter, and with all the alcohol it tastes like some sort of Italian digestif. The booze tastes more like a light Scotch than Bourbon, but it's quite interesting. Orange peel and burnt butterscotch. The finish is fairly dry and overall it makes for a great firery sipping brew. Actually this reminds me of a higher-voltage SN Celebration. From the 750 ml bottle purchased at the usual Bellingham beer temple.

Gifted an annual bottle by a buddy in Bellingham. Mahagony pour with a thin bubbly head that fades. Aroma is figs, oak, bitter hops, roasted malt, light toffee.

Taste is nice and malty with a touch of floral hops and candied fruit. Woodsy, earthy and a touch spicy. Nice mix of flavors.

Warmth not heat from the alcohol, mild booziness. Thinner than the ABV would have you believe.

 

2016, on tap at the brewery. Bright copper in color. Poured without a head, but light lacing anyhow.

This is a mildly hoppy barleywine, about midway between the English and American barleywine styles. It's got a lot of caramel, and a little dark fruit sweetness, with bitterness on the finish. The bourbon barrel influence is detectable, but it's in the background.

Very nicely done.