Bucket Hat Bobby
Away Days Brewing Company

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a dark orange brown with a one finger off-white head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of biscuit and dry caramel malt, dates, caramel; hints of light fruit. Flavor is biscuit and dry caramel malt, dates, figs, caramel and some lighter fruit in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. Although true to the English style, this is one of the variations of the style that leans more to biscuit malt than caramel. This name was originally used for an old ale (that leaned into English barleywine territory) and this one carries that resemblance through; it is a barleywine with old ale character. The biscuity version of this style are uncommon now and I'm glad to see one again. The flavors are bit muted, but nicely balanced and the flavor is pleasant from beginning into the biscuity and dry caramel finish. Enjoyable. When I pulled this from the fridge, I was surprised to see I hadn't reviewed it; I suspect this is the same one I had a few years ago, but someone created this page for this as a barleywine rather than old ale, which was the right thing to do, since this version is not barrel aged. I'll get this again.

Pours a clear, orange-brown color; thin yet lasting head, light khaki, nice rings of foam indicate each sip. Nice aroma; light malt presence with a bit of caramel and honey. Very nice taste; rich caramel malt; buttery notes; figs and fruity esters; boozy. Heavy body; thick and viscous; sticky.

Although I chilled this a bit too long in the freezer, the beer really grows and expands its appeal as it warms up.

ABV: 9%; pouring temperature: 35.4 °F; canning info: 12/09/24
Source: beer surprise from @snaotheus (thanks, Ryan!)

Fairly attractive brew, although I'm rating the body more than any head production or retention. Dark blend of brown and garnet hues, crystal clear.

Nose is definitely deep and malty, but almost indistinctly. If anything, quite a bit of banana-like yeast notes are coming through, along with nuts and dark fruit.

Similar on the palate. Definitely on the sweet side, even for an EBW. A tinge metallic. Tasty overall, with notes of prune, nuts, bread, and tea, but it lacks balance and depth.

Poured from a can at fridge temp. Pours a murky brown with off-white head. The nose is caramel, apple, pear, malts, and a bit of maple candy.

The taste is super smooth. Toffee, French bread, biscuits, slight graham cracker, malts, and an ever so slight hints of hops.

Really nice and easy drinking overall.

Canned 12/5/2022

Figs and dates are here in abundance along with spiced apple and toffee. There is something dry and prickly here as well, kind of mineral-y, a bit grassy, not quite pepper. Whatever it is, it jibes well with everything else. Very tasty.

Poured from 16oz can into a dimpled mug. Canned 12/5/22 — vintage!

Appearance: dark, rich, amber-orange hue with just a little wisp of haze, with a finger of amber-tan foam atop. Looks good to me.

Smell: quite sweet indeed, but with a barrage of dried fruits, raisins, dates, tobacco, caramel, and bread. I am very pleased with this aroma!

Taste: sweet, of course, and bready with a nice complement of dates and some slightly-burnt caramel. It’s good, but it’s also quite boozy indeed — I think that’s where I’m getting the “burnt” element.

Mouthfeel: rich body with a moderate carbonation and, while it’s not necessarily super creamy, the good body makes for a smooth texture that I like.

Overall: a solid barleywine; I love the fruitiness in the aroma. The booziness is a bit of a distraction, though — it seems like even more than its listed 9%.

 

Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into a snifter. Date stamp is 12/05/2022.
The beer pours a rich amber to chestnut color with a fizzy beige head of 1 cm foaming up and fading to a wispy edge layer very quickly after finishing the pour. Only a few lazy streams of carbonation rise to the surface of my glass.
Aroma is rich and malty with some brown sugar, fig, red grapes, a little black pepper and fusol note. Not really any hop character on the nose.
First sip reveals a medium body with smooth texture and relatively clean mouthfeel. Only a little coating and stickiness on the swallow. Carbonation is very fine and slightly tingly. Beer drinks pretty easy for a barleywine for the physical traits.
Flavor is pretty much what the nose advertises up front. I get some red grapes, figs and raisin here, with hints of brown sugar as well. Still no hop character and there is only a faint peppery bite on the finish. This is a malt forward barleywine that drinks pretty easy and is very enjoyable. Glad to have tried this one.