Fish Tale Leviathan Barleywine
Fish Brewing Company / Fishbowl Brewpub

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From:
Fish Brewing Company / Fishbowl Brewpub
 
Washington, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
10%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.89 | pDev: 9.51%
Reviews:
108
Ratings:
126
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 14, 2017
Added:
Jun 03, 2002
Wants:
  35
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by NeroFiddled:
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

4.34/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
750ml bottle - simply capped. Batch No. 3. Bottled Nov. 2001. "Aged in Hungarian Oak casks previously filled with Cabernet Franc". Hazy brown in color with light mahogany highlights. The light tan head drops quickly to a limited collar. The aroma is quite unique: winey, woody/oak, lightly peppery, piney/resinous hops, with a licorice note. Estery. The body is full with a limited carbonation; leaving it fairly viscous on the palate. The flavor is quite bold but not really complex. It's richly malty but well-heeled by bitterness, hop flavor and notes of alcohol. This is a beer best served at @ 60F to bring out its sublte flavors. Once warmed it reveals a gentle dark fruitiness, burnt sugar, dark subtle caramel, licorice, and lots of resiny hop flavors that carry straight through into a long finish. The barrel conditioning becomes more apparent in the aftertaste with a wine-like character and clear notes of wood. Someone remarked to me that "...it's more like a wine" - that's not far off the mark with the exception of its full hoppiness. The alcohol is clear from the start but not offensive in any way. It's got some sweetness, but it's also quite dry (probably due in part to the oak aging). I'd imagine that this would most likely benefit from additional aging. I found this quite easy to drink as the flavor is rich but straightforward. It left me looking for some more depth. I found it quite unique, and enjoyed it quite a bit, but don't think that I'd buy a case of it or put away more than a few bottles for aging.
Nov 02, 2002
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.5 by NickThePyro from Washington

Jul 14, 2017
Photo of Lone_Freighter
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont

3.66/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Reviewed from notes. Growler share. My portion was poured into a chalice. The appearance was a hazy burnt orange to ruddy brown color with a slim finger’s worth of white foaminess that quickly dissipated leaving barely any lacing. The smell was slightly boozy caramel, lightly roasted coffee to a rich nuttiness. The taste was mainly sweet with the boozy caramel coming about into the coffee - esque and almost a tad of woody, slightly tobacco. On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sipping quality about it. The carbonation seemed appropriately styled and was good to me. Overall, I say this was a pretty good barleywine that I would have again.
Jun 28, 2017
 
Rated: 3.71 by BlueSpader from Washington

Dec 24, 2016
Photo of johnnnniee
Reviewed by johnnnniee from New Hampshire

3.67/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2005 Bottle from Mike's Barleywine tasting, thanks for the opportunity!
Rich fruit and caramel with some faint cardboard and sherry notes. Decent aged barleywine.
Apr 04, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by zestar from California

Aug 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by KAF from Iowa

Jul 08, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by WynnO from Florida

Jun 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Georgiabeer from Georgia

May 19, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by sendbeer from Georgia

Jan 27, 2014
Photo of Vancoubeer
Reviewed by Vancoubeer from Washington

4.25/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Found a 2007 vintage for sale at my local bottle shop for 10 bucks. Why not right? A hard pour at first created some head which was a nice sign to see that the bottle's cap had not lost its proper seal and that this was kept in great care while aging. It has a thick white head and dark brown tone before being held up to light. When held up to light you get the nice red and amber tones mixed with the browns depending on the angle held at the light. On the nose at first you get a scent of candied dark fruit. Sweet plums and you get that caramel and toffee in there but not as strong as I thought. Very pleasant. For a 10% beer the fact that the alcohol scent is gone is a great sign of aging. Flavor wise this is smooth easy drinking. You get that really slight caramel flavors in there and no hops at all. I still get that almost Belgian double kind of frutiness but without the yeasty notes of a good trappist ale. This is superb. The carbonation is very light and no alcohol in the flavor. You get a full mouthfeel of the ingredients used, minus the hops of course that normally will disappear over time. For 10 bucks this is a steal. I would totally recommend this to barley wine fans and especially people looking for a strong malty beer because if the hops did anything in this beer, it did yield a bit of a earthy tone in the back end of the sip. Dare I say this is better than the aged O2 I had at Fish Tale's brew pub?
Aug 23, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by WOLFGANG from South Carolina

Jul 27, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by mdaschaf from Indiana

Apr 29, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by t0rin0 from California

Nov 19, 2012
Photo of brewandbbq
Reviewed by brewandbbq from New Hampshire

3.97/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12oz bottle, batch #5.

Pours chestnut brown with a ruby hue and a thin, whispy head of beige. A thin bead around the edge of the glass and zero lacing for the duration.

Aromatics lead off with sugar-dusted fruit, sweet malt, figs, and caramel. Hints of apples and raisins follow through.

On the fuller side of medium bodied with a sticky, tacky mouthfeel.

Sweet, juicy malt with undercurrents of red fruit and caramel start the palate. Hints of jam, candied apple, and vineous alcohol step forward.

Finishes with lingering sweet malt, toffee, and warming alcohol.

This beer is holding up very well for it's age, no cardboard or wet paper to be found. Hops are non-present so it's fairly one dimensional. Sweetish and warming otherwise.
Oct 30, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by MisterE from Florida

Sep 26, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by beerpadawan from California

Aug 26, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by harpus from Alabama

Jul 24, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by BillHilly from Washington

Jul 07, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Mar 09, 2012
Fish Tale Leviathan Barleywine from Fish Brewing Company / Fishbowl Brewpub
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 126 ratings