Lost Weekend
Blue Island Beer Co.

 

 

 

A rye Barleywine style ale. Vanilla, butterscotch, earthy malt and pine. Some rye spiciness. Some underlying fruitiness. Somewhat bitter finish. Smooth. Lighter bodied. It's not bad.

 

500 ml bottle, no bottled on date. My first beer from Blue Island Beer Co., acquired this bottle from a local bottle shop and have been holding it down for several months. "A rye barleywine style ale" per the label. No abv present, though i remember reading this was 10.00% abv somewhere.

Poured into a Unibroue Maudite snifter.

A - The appearance is a dark tawny ruby-amber body, with about a finger of bubbly khaki head that lingers as a soapy surface skimming, leaving good spotty lacing. Looks like some thick high-gravity stuff. Appears well carbonated. Looks nice for the style.

S - Aroma is of semi-sweet malt content, mustiness, light notes of wood, and lots of floral / fusel nail polish remover alcohol fumes. Some unfermented candi sugar smells, subtle notes of brown sugar, and a subtle bananas n' cream sort of smell i would normally associate with certain German styles of beer.

T - Taste is the same: bitter, floral, & fusel with alcohol fumes. Notes of dark chocolate (rye?), some banana / yeast type esters, wood / mustiness. The earthy graininess of the rye becomes more pronounced as the beer continues to warm toward room temperature. Some syrupy sort of dark fruit presence makes itself known near the end also. Wood, chocolate, & dark fruits carry on through the finish.

M - Feel is smooth, crisp, creamy, lightly hot / boozy, some fruit & yeast esters lingering, with some chocolatey / hop bitterness leftover.

Overall, it has the typical characteristics of a nice barleywine, but there is definite room for improvement here. Would be interested to try a barrel-aged version, and i look forward to trying more from this brewery.

Blue Island Beer Co. Lost Weekend -----3.5/5

 

A 500ml bottle I purchased in April at the Open Bottle in Tinley Park. Let's pour this in my 13oz. tulip for the taste.

Look- Pours a caramel brown leaving a small amount of dirty white foam. Tiny carbonation bubbles float to the surface.

Smell- Caramel, banana, marshmallows.

Taste- Sweet caramel, floral esters, banana and a hint of rye spiciness.

Feel- Slick with a slight spicy and bitter finish.

Overall- While it lacks the complexity of a top barleywine in my opinion, it is a flavorful enough easy drinking 10 percent offering. I've heard some Hi Fi Rye comparisons and I'm not quite sold. It does shine more as it warms up. I'd be interested in trying a barrel aged version if that is in the future.

Draft: Poured a clear amber color ale with a nice foamy head. Aroma of grainy malt with fusel alcohol is more or less pleasant. Taste is also a mix of grainy malt notes with some residual sugar notes and some fusel alcohol notes. Body is about average with good carbonation. Too hot for my tastebuds.