Narvel The Marvel
City Steam Brewery Café

The color was very dark. An extremely drinkable barleywine. . . almost too drinkable given the alcohol. It had enough body to carry the alcohol but was surprisingly light on the palate. This beer could be very dangerous as it tastes so good that you could drink way faster than commonsense allows.

Appearance--Rich, cloudy, reddish-brown brew. Ample head with good retention.

Smell--Alcohol is the first thing that hits my nose, beneath that sweet malts are present.

Taste--First off, I'm not a big fan of barley wines. Very strong alcohol flavor. Fairly rich and heavy flavor, but I had a lot of trouble figuring out exactly what the flavors were because of the alcohol taste.

Drinkability--A bit much for my tastes. A couple of these and you'll really be feeling it.

I will give this one a shot again at some point in the future to see if I develop a taste for it.

10oz snifter, from notes of course.. would i be drinking barleywine at 1:34 pm? (probably, but im not)

see-thru and dirty brown, no orange at all is odd for a brown brew. no head and spotty dots occassionally stick to the walls of the snifter.

day-old coffee nose with molasses and bubblegum hints. tart yeast hint leads quickly into the malty roasted burnt sugar, big abv realm. sip brings that molasses out. alcohol wafts up into my nostrils from my throat and releases a pleasant black cherry essence. finishes very much on the lighter side although cloying. finishes with applesauce and toffee. what the..?

weird hybrid russian imperial stout, strong ale, barleywine. i don't get any of the syrupy, hoppy, or candy sweet elements of a traditional barleywine. perplexing offering. can't honestly recommend this other than for its freakshow appeal.

Friday's cask was Marvel the Marvel, double Strong ale indicated on the tiny chalkboard. City Steam indicates that this beer weighs in at 24 Plato, I'm not quite sure how to convert to ABV.
It pours a murky brownish/ red with some ruby highlights. Nice, light tan head that as as thick as pudding. Aroma was of wet cardboard (but not in a bad way) and marshmellows, light English hop notes, and a touch of chocolate.Thick syrupy texture, full bodied as hell, with a slick mouth feel. This brew was very sweet, hints of maple syrup, caramel and chocolate. Fruity prune flavors in there. Mid to finish was very tame but has a spicy, herbal taste to it. Very easy drinking. Overall this beer was reminiscent of Black Boss Porter to me. Huge alcohol content with no astringent flavors, but had an immediate warming effect. A 12oz sample was enough for a nice buzz. Warmed me up to bare the cold weather today.

Cheers!

A cloudy red colored bodied beer. Nice half inch white head in the sniffter. No carbonation can be seen rising at all. Lacing was thin and spotty.

A very nice fruited aroma. Plums were the main scent, but there are notes of other dark fruits including figs and dates. A light to moderate alcohol aroma was present, but not overpowering.

Very nice taste. A great blend of the malt and hops brought a taste of rich fruit blend up front that developed into a slightly more bitter taste at the end of the sip.

Very nice thickness clung to all mouth surfaces. Average carbonation kick helped flavors shift in the thickness.

A very nice offering. A great beer to enjoy by itself after a meal. Stop in and pick some up if they have it. A great offeing from a fantastic spot to drop by.