Barrel Of Monkeys
Devil's Canyon Brewing Company

It's many things, but none of them is a barleywine unfortunately. Just another stout, and as that - a little too sweet, a little too boozy and a little too syrupy.

Of note, my listing says this beer was 16.9% at the Toronado Barleywine Festival in 2010. Perhaps subsequent batches have been tempered down (understandably).

Pours a brown and dark red color with 1/6" beige head. The aroma is a hefty dose of whiskey burn. Woof. This is big. Might be the biggest beer I had that day, definitely smelled like more alcohol than any other beer that day.

Taste is also more of an alcohol first, then some rye barrel afterwards. A little bit of a unsweetened caramel and toffee character in a mild way. Not overly hopped, its just a gripload of booziness to contend with at every whiff, every sip, every glance at this beer. Kicks in some dark fruit notes down the way. Reminds me of that one Kuhnenn beer (solar eclipse?) that wasn't barrel aged, but was 18% abv. This one was kind of like that, huge, challenging, and not much barrel going for it.

 

If you are a fan of barley wine this is a must try. Thick and creamy, full-bodied, well-balanced and rich style. No reason not to hunt this one down.

Dark brownish red color, clear in the tumbler with adequate foam. Spritzy mouthfeel lasts well. Aroma is appealingly boozy and alcoholic. Tongue numbing but tangy and something like a malt liqueur.

Toffee and caramel with endless roasted malt flavors. While this is sweet, as you'd expect, it's really quite drinkable. It's so hot with alcohol you breathe in the fumes with each sip, like Scotch with a splash of water. Aftertaste is dry, somewhat raisiny, but also spicy like a big rye beer.

 

 

 

 

A: dark reddish brown. Egg white head. Dissipates fairly quickly. Not too cloudy.

S: smells sweet and a very light hint of bourbon.

T: it's a little sweet for my liking, and the bourbon doesn't come through for a bourbon barrel aged. It is pretty good and definitely does not taste like 14% abv.

M: it has a nice feel, leaves a great taste after.

O: the biggest problem is that it's a bit too sweet in my opinion. Maybe in some time that will calm down, but right now it's a little much. For $10, though, it's a good buy. Also considering this is a small time shop, it's pretty good. The 3.5 overall comes from comparing to other barrel aged, but beats up on non-aged barleywines.

 

 

Big BA barleywines are a tradition for niner playoffs. Big win over the packers!

this guy has come a lonnng way since i first had it years ago, had it side by side with CW ba bw and bcbbw

poured from a 22oz bottle, 120 of 700 into my 49er tulip

a- looks good, about right for a babw, with nearly no head but a lot of soda like bubbles.

s- surprised how good this one smells, malt and bourbon upfront followed by a bit of peat and slight smokiness. dark fruits follow. getting pretty excited for it

t- big and chewy, surprisigly well balanced for a 14% beer! sticky dark fruits, bourbon and a bit of peat, works really really well. wow good job fellas

m- at first i thought it was alright, but after some thought mouthfeel plays a big part in the balance of this guy. medium bodied and good carbonation. alch well restrained.

o- was not expecting much from this guy having had this before, but this one really surprised me. eveything i like in a bug beer, well done on hiding the alch! compared to the other 2 its not bcbw but it was surpisingly way ahead of cw bw by a large margin. good job devils canyon, this is your best beer yet! hopefully i run into a few more bottles

go niners!!'

 

2013 batch, bourbon barrel aged.

A: Pours a deep, deep red with a mid-sized and fluffy light brown head. Head sticks around forever; great retention. Very thin but widespread lacing everywhere.

S: Lots of caramel and toasted sugar. Very malty and loaded with dark fruits. Hints of oak and toffee to boot.

T: Not as much bourbon but still notable. Caramel, toffee and dark fruits. Loads of dark bread. Boozy throughout.

M: Very heavy but the alcohol cuts it decently.

O: The reviews scared me a little but this was surprisingly good. Super malty, little bourbon but just enough to add some complexity.

 

 

Retrospective review from a few days ago, nevertheless:

A big barleywine. Had there been less alcohol involved, it would have been far too sweet. As it was, a beautifully-pouring beer with a full body, mild fruity nose, moderate-strong alcohol taste with a notable presence of molasses and cherries. This example didn't show the vanilla and spice I expect of a barrel-aged beer.

Overall, a delicious barleywine but a somewhat mediocre beer. Glad to have tried it, wouldn't seek it out again.

 

Poured up at the 2010 Toronado Barleywine Festival with brownish amber body with weak tan head. The mild aroma has bourbon and aged caramel covered oak as well as a mild alcohol medicinal smell. The taste is definitely bourbon barrel aged with robust bourbon notes moving into a mixture of mild oakiness, molasses, prunes, ripe cherries and sugar stewed raisins. The sweet dark fruitiness is kind of subdued with the bourbon booze far more forward followed by mild smooth oak notes. Nice barrel forward beer that still allows rich tasty dark fruity esters to seep out.