Pinot Barrel Tepache Barley Wine
Culmination Brewing

Poured into a Reuben's Brew small snifter. Pours a somewhat hazy orange brown with no head and only a faint pop on opening the bottle. Only a few stray bubbles keep this from being a still pour. Aroma of caramel malt, dates, raisins, white wine; mildly tart. Flavor is caramel malt, dark dried fruit, apple, white wine, oak, lightly citric tart in the finish with lingering white wine. Medium bodied with only a touch of carbonation, nearly still. Well, this is unlike any barleywine I've ever had, but seems to true to its label as a white wine barreled barley beer, although there are distinct flavors of cider here too, mostly apples. This was a collaboration with Rev. Nat's Cider and they seem to be into beer/cider hybrids, so this seems to be exactly in line with that endeavor. This really does taste like a mixture of apple cider and an English style barleywine with maybe a touch of hops. I find white wine barreled beers to often be not to my taste, but I do like ciders with real fruit flavors. Although I partially regretted not tasting the underlying barleywine more clearly, I did enjoy this hybrid offering, probably because the apple flavor is distinct. Different, interesting and uncategorizable.