Whole Hog Barley Wine Style Ale
Stevens Point Brewery

 

12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 11/12/2014. Pours hazy deep reddish brown/light copper color with a 1-2 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big raisin, plum, fig, date, apricot, apple, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, molasses, toasted biscuit, brown bread, nuttiness, light chocolate/cocoa, tobacco, herbal, light pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hops notes; with great strength. Taste of big raisin, plum, fig, date, apricot, apple, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, molasses, toasted biscuit, brown bread, nuttiness, light chocolate/cocoa, tobacco, herbal, light pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy hop and roast bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark fruits, apricot, apple, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, molasses, toasted biscuit, brown bread, nuttiness, cocoa, tobacco, herbal, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hops flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light dryness from hop/roast bitterness, lightly increasing through the glass. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, fairly sticky, and lightly chalky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden, a mild warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a great English barleywine. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hops flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the ABV. This was fairly roasty for my style expectations; but the balance between yeast, malt, and hop character was spot on for the style; with great overall complexity. Still a good amount of hop presence after 2+ years as well. A very enjoyable offering.

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours a murky dark brown with a fluffy khaki head that fades leaving nice retention and solid lacing. The aromas are very nice. Lots of chocolate and sweet caramel. Hints of vanilla as well along with some dark fruits. The flavors seem to follow the nose. The flavors are very clean. More chocolate, vanilla and caramel. Toffee is definitely in the mix. Some raisins and plum to round things out. Not really bitter at all and not too sweet either. Alcohol goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of full-bodied with moderate carbonation. Makes for a nice sipper although it's very easy to drink.

This is a very nice barleywine. Great aromas along with some clean flavors make for a nice experience. Well done. Recommended.

12 oz bottle served in a goblet.

Pours clear, dark red-brown with lovely highlights. The bone-colored head is decent in size but reduces quickly; at least this allows the fine but relatively mild aroma to shine. The flavor is also on the mild side for style but has ample and much appreciated dark fruit notes, especially after some warming. The positive side of the mildness is that the ale is mellow and easy sipping for something over 10% ABV.

Mouthfeel: very smooth, medium-full body with light carbonation; well hidden alcohol.

Pours a rich amber-brown with deep red highlights. Small dark tan head is slow to form and quick to vanish. Minimal lacing which disappears quickly.

Aroma is big caramel and brown sugar. Toffee, molasses, vanilla, and figs. Something earthy.

Big sweet flavors on the tongue. Caramel, brown sugar, molasses, dates, overripe plum, and raisins. Earth, leather, and toffee. Alcohol, a bit strong near the end.

Sticky and syrupy on the tongue. Moderate carbonation. Sweetness lingers, a bit cloying. Unexpected dryness in the middle.

Lots of classic English barleywine characteristics. Would be nice if the syrupy sweetness could be toned down a notch.

 

 

 

Addition on 12/20/2017: (From memory of about 10 months ago): it was much smoother and more enjoyable than the other year- and two-year old Bigfoot barleywines. Increasing the last three attributes.

12oz., no bottle date. Pours a light mahogany, with a nice head that quickly dissipates; looks nice when swirled, as there is a thin amount of head around the rim. Aroma of dark fruit, and alcohol. taste is sweet, with plenty of malt flavor. Mouth-feel is medium, with a definite heat.

This is an enjoyable barley-wine as it is, but my guess is it will mellow with more time.

Had this at the end of last year (2015), and I thought it was overly sweet.

12oz bottle poured into a snifter.

(A)- Pours a deep mahogany bronze brown color. Produced a giant clumpy head of tan color froth. Some good lacing too.

(S)- A rather big dark fruit component (plum, prune, grape, & cassis). Slightly grainy bread and barley combo that is ever so slightly zesty with an almost cinnamon-like spice.

(T)- Quite similar to the smell with a great array of dark fruits, bready yeast, barley, and just a kiss of a nutmeg or cinnamon-like spice.

(M)- A great carbonation level and balance. The sweetness is really well restrained and is not overly hoppy or resinous like alot of examples can be.

(O)- Definitely have been favoring the English variety of barleywines lately but this is a top notch american barleywine that is not so overly hopped that I have to age it for 5+ years. With just a year on this, this is quite good.

 

Dark and ruby the abv and hops are muted. Not on par with other elite examples. Yet a solid version of the style at a reasonable price point.

 

 

Its taste is a little thin

12oz bottle. Poured out a clear, dark amber color with golden highlights and a small, off-white head of foam. It smelled of toffee, caramel and burnt toast. Sweet and boozy with a lot of toffee and caramel.

Poured a bottle into a tulip glass. Dark brown slight red hue. Poured heavy and got a small 1/2 inch head. Big Sweet plum aroma. Heavy flavorful beer. Sweet plum taste. Picking up hints of peat and tobacco. It’s pretty good.

Looks the part. Dark burgandy tone with a creamy off white head. Smell is pretty thick with malts and has some of that grainy/mash aroma. Flavor is quite nice. Thick and juicy with malts. Definitely more English style, which has its place. Nice residual malty sweetness as well. I like this one.