Attempted RedRum
New England Brewing Co.

One of my favorite beers to date. Strong beer but very drinkable and tasty. Dark brown pour with a nice carbonation and not too much head. Bottle #306/850. Malty rum flavor is a home run. Thanks Eric, this and the Gandhi bot are my two favorites !

This bottle poured a beautiful deep red with hues of maroon and copper. The blood-tinged off white head was quite large and reached for the edges of the glass, and took its time settling down. The initial aromas while the head was at its peak reminded me of Belgian yeast. Once the head settled into a blanket there was a ton of fig, date, and raisin with some leather and spice. The rum was present, but never overwhelming. This was very sweet as the liquid delivered a rich concentration of the dried fruits mentioned on nose. There were deeper flavors of leather and oak as well with some spicy oak on the finish. The feel was sticky with the body landing somewhere between medium and full. Some nice heat from the booze lingered on the palate. Overall, this is a barley wine that I could look forward to annually. Big, rich, and sweet with some nice barrel work.

 

2019 vintage
L: fairly clear; deep, dark mahogany; small cream-colored head with moderate lacing.
S: lots of rum--brown sugar, burnt cookies, oaky undertones--plays curiously well with hoppy resin
T: generally follows nose, but with more delineation along the palette. Opens resinous with a toffee/raisin sweetness. Bitterness, almost citrusy, follows through mid-palette and swells to overcome the base sweetness. Finishes very well: sweet and a little starchy like the crispy edges of pancakes cooked in butter. Brown sugar comes through in force and mingles with a sticky resinous quality long after the sip.
F: medium-full bodied, sweet yet nimble. Maybe a touch thicker would be nice.

A unique, tasty beer.

2019 Vintage

Pours a clear, deep blood red hue topped with two fingers of dense, light tan foam; great head retention fades steadily to a chunky cap, thick, fluffy collar, and dense sling of lacing around the glass.

Aroma opens with a boozy amalgam of white rum, cane sugar, and pine; tinges of vanilla, toasted caramel, dry grass, fig, raisins, and shaved coconut mesh for an eclectic, detailed middle as rubbery pineapple and airier tones of floral rum transition with a flowing barrel booziness into the close.

Taste brings more prominent raisin and fig notes doused with a familiar white rum upfront; floral pineapple and toasty coconut wander into sticky caramel malt as the mid-palate fades to a brief charred oak tone before an ultimately fruity finish.

Mouthfeel offers up a medium body along with a soft, moderate carbonation fluffing up to a creamy mid-palate, which in turn eventually spritzes out into a lingering fruity acidity mixed with a vague char on the back end; mildly sticky and steadily warming into a finish/swallow that incorporates its booze to a highly adept, casual degree.

The rum barrel brings an incredibly intriguing twist to this American Barleywine, expanding the hops to their tropical limit against the stiff caramel malt tones and overarching barrel heat; in my experience, this is a hard spirit to incorporate into a brew, but NEBCO ultimately prevailed with steady, warming, and unexpectedly quaffable results.

 

 

 

 

 

2014 release poured from a 375ml bottle (#466 out of 1400) into a tulip glass.

A: The beer is a deep medium brown color with a thin off-white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains rum, brown sugar, fruit, caramelized malts and some hops.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of rum, brown sugar, caramel and some fruit. Then a mild but complementary hops bitterness comes in along with a touch of booziness. The malt character is hearty and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, light-to-medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, very strong kick, good representation of style, this is a solid barleywine to sip on for a while.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sampling a 375 ml bottle at cellar temperature. THis is a 2013 bottle number 329 of 850 and poured into a snifter.
The beer is a bright copper to chestnut color with a creamy beige colored head of only minimal densely packed foam that rests on the edges of the glass. there is some suspended sediment in the glass and a lot of debris in the bottom of the bottle.

Aroma is rich with malt notes of toffee and some vanilla. I do get some boozy alcohol as well, which reminds me this is a 13% beer.
First sip reveals a velvety smooth texture and fine spacious carbonation. Very nice physical properties.
Flavor is similar to the nose, lots of malt, brown sugar, toffee and some vanilla. I also get a little dark fruit and the finish is a little booze flavor but surprisingly not a lot of warmth. Quite a nice beer that I enjoy and Im glad I have another bottle in the cellar.
Well done NEBCO!

 

 

 

 

2014 Edition (1264/1400)... A standard pour yields a fingers worth of lush khaki colored froth that displays minimal retention... Once receded there is an uneven splotchy veil of lacing with a thin collar... A few carbonation bubbles can be seen bursting through the surface... The color is a medium to dark flat brown that allows some light to leak in around the edges... A light to moderate bit of carbonation streaks can be seen towards the top of the glass... The aroma is huge and be detected without bring one's nose anywhere near the glass... Brown sugar... Dark fruits... Warm dark breads... Toffee... Butterscotch... A touch of tobacco... A light spiced rum character adds some nice complexity... Good depth and complexity... Full bodied... Ultra sleek... Ultra smooth... Sticky... Chewy... A wee bit of carbonation... All the expected characters are present on the palate... The ebb and flow creating layer upon layer of complexity... The warmth of the rum barrels rises on the finish... Quite sophisticated... A definite sipper of a barrel aged barley wine... A bit less than the sum of its parts... Certainly worth a try if you're able to procure a bottle... Very very good, but a bit shy of world class... The rum isn't overpowering, but the barrel aging doesn't quite work in perfect tandem with the beer itself... Still a rather satisfying brew with lots of redeeming qualities... A few small tweaks or some more time in the bottle could co a long way...