The Phantom
General Lafayette Inn & Brewery

Pours a redish chestnut color with no head. Smell is a quick punch of sweet malts and booze backed up by earthy hops and fresh grain notes. Taste was not to be feared as the powerful scent lead on, wondefully smooth and layered... fresh grains, sweet carmel, brown sugar, earthy, hints of scotch. Medium bodied, not thick or syrupy like many other barleywines. Amazing to note that this beer was only about 3 months old and tasted like it had a years worth of age on it. Very nicely done.

A: Pours dark red with virtually no head
S: Fruity aroma with hints of caramel
T: Lots of sweetness with vanilla and caramel flavors in the aftertaste
M: There's a bit of dryness
D: Nothing really stood out about this beer that made it unique. Maybe bottle aging would add complexity to the body and help to bring out more of the flavors.

I brought a blend of the '04 and '05 Phantoms, blended by the brewmasters at the General Lafayette, to the 2010 Stone Soup. The barleywine aged very nicely, taking on a robust sherry flavor. Age did this beer very well. All scores were ramped up significantly.

***
Original review, 26-Jun-06

This is a blend of Phantom '04 and '05, bottled for the Bottled Brewer's Reserve held at Iron Hill in North Wales. From my discussions with the brewers, there was no scientific mixing, they just poured two half kegs together to yield the blended version.

Appearance: The ale is very dark in color with a bit of head.

Smell: A tart hoppiness is the first thing that you notice in the head. There is a bit of a malt presence that manages to shine through.

Taste: The flavor is dominated by the hot 2005 version. The hops are strong and in-your-face, almost to the point of being too strong. There is a slight malt backbone that I hope will emerge with age (as I have a bottle to lay down).

Mouthfeel: The beer is astringent and sharp in the mouth, hopefully age will help that out.

Drinkability: Not too high right now. I'll get back to you in a year.

This was a light brown color, much like the ’01 and ’02, but with better clarity. Chris Leonard’s cheat sheet mentioned “tropical fruit aromas” on the nose and I had to concur. He continued by mentioning, “… particularly pineapple” and here we parted company. For me, it was coconut, especially on the palate. I will grant him pineapple or mango on the finish.

Appears a thick haze of mahogany with a tiny, little film of head that fades into a gentle collar in the brandy snifter.
Smell is of dark fruit, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, and a hint of cherry wine.
Taste is of the aromas but not as complex. This would do well aged in oak barrels to add a vanilla blast that many barleywines benefit from.
Mouthfeel is sweet, thick, and mildly dry.
Drinkability...that abv is a killer. It's mildly noticeable.

80IBU, this is a biting hoppy barleywine. Flavorful and sour, reminding me of other wonderful brewing accients like Cuvee de Tomee. Opaque red, chestnut colour, with mocha head. Seductive aroma of musty fruit sourness. Floral, spicey, sharp biting. Worth the trip into deep Philadelphia suburb late at night.

Surprising bang for the buck 8 oz. vino glass of barley wine pours a non discriminate violent violet and brown offering with a non-existant halo ring cap.

Full on dark fruit and bold scents hit with a blend of pear, apple and malt.

First swigs: Plum, pear and waffles malts. Huge tropical citrus bang consisting of a conicopia of pear, coconut and pomegranate. Bold spicy flavors are exquisite. A full 5/5 is worthy here with the distinct flavor effervescence.

Tacky full bodied sipper creates an excellent American or English BWSA. Allow your palate to discriminate. Mine was quite on the fence betwixt English & American.

Last swigs: This is a literal glass of strawberry shortcake!!! Fruity full wide open complex barley wine style ale, and from this BlitheringIdiot, an excellent version. Too bad that a mad props $40 called for a growler full, or a full GLI would have followed me home. Go Chris Leonard!!! Man, could this go back all night. Thank goodness SkinyElvis drove my swiggin' butt around t'night. Any words misspelled? Blame the Barley wine...after two months in fermentation, to qoth Jeff Buckley, "Alleluia!" This is delicious and fruity.

Beer is good. Happy BIG Local Beering.
*** Had more t'nite... Gawd this stuff is good!***

Had another bottle with some fellow BAs and it is just smooth as all get out. Developed some body and bouquet, shed some fruit and still is killah!