Five
Future Primitive Brewing Company

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a medium to dark slightly reddish orange with a thin white head that dissipates to sparse patches with no lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, bourbon, light stone fruit and raisins. Flavor is thin caramel malt, bourbon, light stone fruit and lemon; citrus and piney hops kick in just before the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. One of the now rare true to style American barleywines that straddle the styles between triple IPAs and barleywines; this one with more substantial malt than a big IPA would have but perhaps lighter than a barleywine. Good barrel character and light fruit. I'm reminded by this one that I should not age this style of barleywine any more; the hops taste a bit aged, although not oxidized. I'm happier now tasting fresh hops in this style and will drink the next version when released. Although dated 2022, this was released late 2023; the dating may be for the year of blending, which means they held this for another year. Warming and has a kick.

 

This beer is not subtle which suits my mood just fine tonight. Hard to to believe some of this is 5 years old given how potent the hop bite is, pithy citrus abounds. The barrels add bitter and oak sharp, biting bourbon. Burned caramel helps tie this beast together. Hoo-boy this mule kicks and I like it.

2022 can poured at fridge temp. Pours a clear orange with tons of bubbles rising throughout. A bit of off-white head that goes away pretty quickly. The nose is full of sweet caramel, bourbon, slight vanilla, and a bit of pine needle.

The taste is a bit different from the nose. Getting more hoppy bitterness here. Definitely mixes nicely with the sweet toffee notes. Sponge toffee is what I think of. Bitter oak, leather, and resin. Some bourbon definitely comes through with a relatively sharp booziness. Somewhat dry on the mouthfeel. Overall, a solid BA American barleywine.