Old Boardhead Barleywine Ale
Full Sail Brewing Company

2004 on tap at the brewery in 2004
Look - thick slightly orangish light brown with a slight head
Smell - caramel grainy and barrel
Taste - grainy slight caramel and wood
Feel- medium syrup with no real carb
Overall - not bad especially for being 18 years old

 

 

22 oz bottle of 2011 Reserve served in a Belgian snifter. (from 2015 notes).
The hazy brown body is topped by a thin weak head that leaves minimal lacing.
Fruity appealing aroma with some biscuit and remarkably little evidence of alcohol. There’s little sign of the alcohol upon tasting either ... at first; but eventually the alcohol builds and the finish and aftertaste are actually rather boozy. While the boozy finish detracts from the flavor it is overall good enough, and complex enough, to deserve a 4. More hops than expected for this style.

Feel: light carbonation in a medium-light body with obvious alcohol warming.

2007 (!!!) Vintage that has an amazing aroma with a smooth run down the tongue. After taste is a little almost burnt sugar. Really lucky to get this taste from a friend. Yea I filled spaces for a review.

 

2012 vintage in 22 oz. bottle Darker amber with thin beige head. Wine like malty aroma with alcohol very much in the forefront. Some oak barrel, peat and caramel. Taste (once past the alcohol heat) is malt, caramel and some spiciness. Excellent winter quaff. Recently sampled 2007 vintage also, ages wonderfully.

 

Them mahogany and auburn and crimson red notes all together to make this color up. Lots of caramel sweetness in the aroma, hops later.

This one straddles that line between English and American barleywine, I think it has more of the sweetness and lesser hop character that leans slightly English. Viscosity of a caramel/syrup/molasses vein. A little bit of toffee contributing to the English feels.

A little bit of dark fruit bitterness, not full on quad or RIS like, but you know. One the one hand this is an inexpensive bomber and big beer, but on the other hand, its still a bomber instead of the more convenient (and cheaper) 12 oz format.

2012 reserve bottle. Pours a non appealing mudy brown leaving almost no head. Still has nice carbonation with plenty of boubles. Smell is not to impressive either. Slight malty nose. I was never expecting the taste to be any better, but wow was I wrong. Tastes wonderful, extremely mellow and smooth leaving Carmel, toffy, vanilla and honey notes. Semi Sweet malty aftertaste. Seems to be getting even better as it warms. Overall I'm very impressed by this barleywine, it's one of the smoothest I've tried yet. 3 years has aged this beer to perfection. the 4.50

 

 

A: Slight chill haze clears as it warms to a brilliant deep amber to chestnut under a rapidly dissipating ½” off white foam collar that grips the glass producing thin sheets of lace.
S: Sweet big vanilla caramel nose with traces of wine and alcohol
T: Not as sweet on the palate as on the nose – the finish is a cascade of fruit and candy, some citrusy hops in the finish that grow in the after taste
F: chewy, creamy, warming, lacy, medium low carbonation
O: A big, bold barley wine for evening sipping.