Old Fighter
Upper Hand Brewery

New version? At Brown Iron Brewhouse. ABV listed as 12.7.

12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 5/9/2016. Pours moderately hazy/cloudy deep ruby reddish orange/copper color with a 1 finger dense and rocky cream colored head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big tangerine, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, plum, pear, pineapple, apricot, red apple, golden raisin, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, honey, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, spicy rye, and brown bread; with lighter notes of toffee, roast, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and dark/bready malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big tangerine, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, plum, pear, pineapple, apricot, red apple, golden raisin, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, honey, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, spicy rye, and brown bread; with lighter notes of toffee, roast, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of tangerine, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, plum, pear, pineapple, apricot, red apple, golden raisin, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, honey, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, spicy rye, brown bread, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and dark/bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, fairly sticky, and lightly resinous/rindy mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 10%. Overall this is an awesome American barleywine. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the big ABV, with the mellowly bitter/resinous/drying finish. Nice soft feel, and not aggressive. Feels like mostly classic C hops. Very juicy/vibrant, and fairly dank/earthy hops with fruity yeast; and a great balanced dark/bready/rye malt backbone. Light residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive classic tasting style example.

Enjoyable barleywine. Had a bottle of the 2016 in January of 2019 while visiting Escanaba. Aroma is sweet and fruity. Flavor is nice caramel malt, dark fruits, and a bit of a zip from what I assume is the rye. I can't imagine the hops have lasted this long. Would like to be able to get a fresh bottle one day for comparison.

 

 

 

Pours light brown amber. Shall, thick, white head. Lasts a while and leaves lacing.

Smells piney and spicey probably the rye. Light doughy malt.

Tastes malty and piney. Some spice well balanced. Finish is dry and some peppery piney linger. Very light alcohol flavor. Medium to full body. Medium smooth carbonation.

I've tried this brew both on tap and from the bottle. Each time, I thought the same thing: Just a bit too hoppy.

I'm a fan of dark, malty beers, and barley wines can be exceptional. The Old Fighter pours a deep amber color (looks quite nice!) It forms a very light head that disappears quickly. Unfortunately for me, the hop character is just a bit too strong in the nose and in the taste. It certainly has a strong malt backbone, and the quality is definitely there (especially at the price point - about $2.50 per bottle locally.) Those who enjoy a hoppy barley wine would probably really enjoy this brew.

Was happy to have found some of this on vacation in the UP this June. Finally cracking one and still seeing no reviews, so I guess this is as good an occasion as any to dip my toe into the review writing pool!

L - pours a ruby-ish carmel color indistinct from most other American Barleywines. Leaves a nice 1 inch poof of head that hugs the inside of the snifter and recedes slowly leaving spotty clinging lace and a thin 1/8" cap of foam that lingers. A swirl of the glass churns up a soft foamy coating and brings the aforementioned thin cap back into play.

S - Nothing special here. A bit of spicy rye or hops. Hard to say. Aroma is not this beer's strong suit. Doesn't smell like much of anything or my nose sucks today - could be either.

T - I was expecting something along the lines of fresh Bigfoot or Uinta's Anniversary barleywine, but no. The hoppy bitterness is not nearly as assertive as expected. In fact I'd say the most distinct bitterness comes from the rye used in its recipe rather than the "8 hops" mentioned in the description. This is balanced out by a typical carmelish malt profile. Well balanced veering to the slightly sweetish side, but never cloying. The 10% booze is hidden well and only makes itself apparent after the swallow. A sipper for sure, but a dangerously smooth sipper.

F - Medium full. Not syrupy or thin - a nice mouth-coating middle ground that works for the style.

O - If you like American Barleywines and you like Rye IPAs, give this a try for sure. Might I call it a red rye barleywine? Not sure how this will age out as the smoothness factor already seems to be where a lot of American BWs of this caliber are after a year or 2. Solidly made and I'm glad I have more to try later. Good stuff and will buy next year if given the chance.

Edit for 2017 revisit: Drinking another bottle from the same 6 pack that was reviewed fresh above. Still very rye forward but smoothed out overall. Deceptively smooth rye/honey/bittersweet caramel flavors. Has aged very nicely and I would put it in the same league as Bigfoot. Will revisit one last time next summer. VERY SAD to see this listed as retired and disappointed I couldn't manage to stumble across any while vacationing in the Yoop a couple weeks back.