Criminally Bad Elf
Ridgeway Brewing

Criminally Bad ElfCriminally Bad Elf
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From:
Ridgeway Brewing
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Barleywine
ABV:
10.5%
Score:
79
Avg:
3.45 | pDev: 15.94%
Reviews:
215
Ratings:
342
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 07, 2022
Added:
Nov 08, 2006
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  27
It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity, of course - wrong place at the wrong time...but Claus was soon back on the street with the polite apologies of the authorities - no questions asked. All’s well that ends well, surely, but still, the reporters wanted to know...it takes its toll, doesn’t it? "Indeed" sighed Claus, "my elf is going crazy, and I fear I shall soon go crazy as well." And with that he hoisted a great flagon of his favorite Barley Wine-style ale, silently contemplating the future and straining to remember why he got into this particular line of work in the first place.
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Ratings by ste5venla:
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Rated by ste5venla from California

3/5  rDev -13%

Dec 22, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.32/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Shared bottle at local tasting, from Voldby Købmandsgaard. Sweetish aroma, notes of malt sugar and molasses. Medium sweet flavour, some fruit and noticeable hops to make it drinkable, if I were not drunk already.
Jan 07, 2022
Photo of justme
Rated by justme from Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Nice beer to share for the holidays. A wee sweet but enjoyable.
Dec 29, 2021
Photo of jkblr
Reviewed by jkblr from Indiana

3.55/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
50cL bottle coded L22 267 poured into a tulip glass at 54° F 10.5% ABV. The beer pours bright light honey amber in color with khaki head. The head recedes to a fluffy ring and uneven cap. The aroma is mild with notes of pale malt and orchard fruit. The taste is semisweet caramel with oxidized overtones. There are traces of tea-like English hops and moderate bitterness throughout. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good, although I was hoping for more.
Oct 31, 2021
Photo of Darkmagus82
Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas

4.04/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from a can into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a deep slightly hazed orange color with a tiny white head of foam. The head fades rather fast leaving just a trace of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is strong of a sweet doughy and bready smell with aromas of harvest fruits of apple and pear as well as some stone fruits of peach and apricot and a little bit of an orange aroma. Along with these smells comes notes of toffee and caramel as well as a touch of hay and earthiness.
Taste – The taste begins with a quite sweet toffee and caramel taste mixed with a bready flavor and a bit of the fruit flavors that were detected in the nose. Upfront there is a very light level of earthy and herbal hop with these largly fading from the taste as the taste moves forward. All the while the sweet gets more intense with more and more of the fruit building on the tongue. Toward the end a tiny touch of alcohol joins the flavor profile and with a little bit of a warming, but pleasant medicinal taste, one is left with a sweet and warming taste to linger on tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium in thickness and creaminess with a carbonation that is low. For the style, the feel is nice and makes for a nice warming slow sipper.
Overall – A sweet and tasty barley wine with a nice warming feel and style. A fun one to give a try to.
Dec 12, 2020
Photo of BeerAndGasMasks
Reviewed by BeerAndGasMasks from Virginia

3.77/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From the bottle in the basement where I found the copperhead snake, it pours a nice coppery color with a modest head that soon reduces to a ring and island. In the nose, it is a nice scent of malt and spice. In the mouth, it is nicely malty with a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Jun 17, 2020
Photo of schoolboy
Reviewed by schoolboy from Ohio

4.26/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
It's pandemic time and I have been in quarantine since returning from the Caribbean three weeks ago. And I only have the beers from my aging box. I'm not sure that this style really needs aging, but it was from 2018.

It pours a nice copper with little or no head. The aroma is a pleasant malty smell. The taste is full, dark, and malty. A mouthful. The aftertaste lingers pretty clean and only a bit boozy. Overall, though, this is a very smooth barleywine.

From looking at other reviews, aging made this smoother but flat.

Highly recommended. I will pick up another bottle if I ever get to a store again (it's been three weeks since I set foot in any public place).
Apr 06, 2020
Photo of scootny
Reviewed by scootny from New York

3.74/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
A simple tawney fluid with an tight creme head. A bit of lace.

Nose is full of sweetness. Cherries and toffee. Figs and dark fruits. Toasted malt and a bit of dough.

Taste is malty and sweet with those cherries toffee as the dominant flavors. A bit of herbal hops to bring a sharp clean-ish finish. Alcohol is well hidden.

Feel is slightly syrupy and modestly carbonated a touch of creaminess

A decent and quite drinkable brew.
Jan 04, 2020
Photo of chitoryu12
Reviewed by chitoryu12 from Florida

3.97/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Look: Pale brown and cloudy like ditch water, with tons of white bubbles on the side of the glass. One finger of thick white head with excellent retention.

Smell: Sweet treacle, banana, and dough.

Taste: Mild bready malt with slight yeast and alcohol bite. Light hop bitterness that continues through the finish.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, average thickness, highly carbonated.

Overall: Starts off well but ultimately becomes a rather unspectacular example of the style.
Dec 20, 2019
 
Rated: 3.59 by Jcarriglio from Florida

Nov 24, 2019
Photo of HopsAreDaMan
Rated by HopsAreDaMan from Missouri

3.75/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Written about three months after having had it.

After aging this for a year, it was not bad.
Apr 06, 2019
Photo of Premo88
Reviewed by Premo88 from Texas

3.82/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
16.9 oz. bottle poured into snifter tulip
(XX)

L: bronze-copper, some amber in it but not a ton, with an almost 1/2-inch head of offwhite foam that dissipates quickly; keeps a week but noticeable collar of loose bubbles; no sticking/lacing

S: super sweet honey, peach, lilac ... the floral sweetness is so strong it's like an air freshner or laundry detergent/fabric softener

T: sweet honey and apricot, almost braggot-level sweetness but with a pretty stern bit of earthy hops to offer at least some balance; a slight bit of medicinal alcohol burn builds in the aftertaste when I drink it fast ... it's not overpowering but there's also no mistaken this for a session beer

F: solid midweight, decent crispness from the carbonation despite an arguably flat look at times

O: not nearly as good as Ridgeway's Reindeer Revolt or their Lump of Coal but still plenty tasty and easy to sip for so big a beer; considering it's 10.5% ABV, I'd personally like a bit more of something, but that might be my anti-barleywine bias speaking out ... it's hard to put a finger on but the malt doesn't quite have the same pop as the other two Ridgeway beers, and in a barleywine I'd expect the malt to pop big time; the earthy hop buildup is a nice touch and keeps the beer from coming off like a sugary syrup
Dec 23, 2018
Photo of patre_tim
Reviewed by patre_tim from Thailand

3.76/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Copper filtered, with moderate carbonation and a half finger of off white head.

Smells of crème brûlée toasted malts and vanilla pudding.

Taste of crème brûlée, toasted Malts and candy apple candy.

Medium, Syrupy body, with moderate carbonation.

I got this at world market and I’m drinking in Redding December 21, 2018.
Dec 22, 2018
Photo of Suds
Reviewed by Suds from Missouri

3.75/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From a large bottle, this brew is a golden amber color. Slim white head. The aroma is malty and sweet-smelling. Small in fruit and a little toasted notes. This brew is full, sweet, boozy, and interesting. It's not an over-the-top brew, but is subtle and drinkable.
Dec 21, 2018
 
Rated: 2.78 by RayCannata from Louisiana

Nov 23, 2018
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

3.44/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
$ 7.47 (Including tax)/500 mL bottle ($ 0.441) from World Market, The Forum, Live Oak, TX. Reviewed 11/22/18.
Bottle marked “F20 225” on back of label. On shelf in store, stored at 42 degrees at home and served at 60 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 3.5.
Body – Light orange, clear.
Head – Average (Maximum three cm, aggressive center pour), off-white, creamy, short duration diminishing to a partial one-bubble ring and no layer.
Lacing – None.
First pour – Light amber, clear.
Aroma –3.25 - Sweet, caramel malt, weak.
Flavor – 3.5 – Sweet and malty, mostly caramel. Ends with a bit of bitterness, not much, just enough to notice. No alcohol (10.5% ABV), no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, syrupy, soft carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 3.5 – An OK brit barley wine. The initial sweetness is balanced by the ending bitterness. The flavor is rather one-dimensional, being that of caramel malt, which is surprising since the brew contains barley, wheat, rye, and oats. Several minutes after you finish drinking, the alcohol produces a mild gastric burn.
Nov 22, 2018
 
Rated: 3.43 by JeffSK from Wisconsin

Jun 22, 2018
Photo of rudiecantfail
Reviewed by rudiecantfail from Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
50 cl bottle poured into a tulip glass.

L---Clear, light copper color. Nice off white head that. had little retention, fizzling down to a film quickly. Actually left quite nice lacing

S---Boozy. Alcohol is clearly there. Raisins and dark fruit.

T---Followed the nose. Booziness is there, but not at all overwhelming, which is nice from such a potent beer, Some cherry & plum. Raisin is in the forefront.

F---Nowhere near as heavy or cloying as I was expecting from such a high ABV. Actually feels more wet than astringent. There's even a touch of creaminess.

O---Very nice effort by the brewers. This was a gift from someone a few states away, so I don't know if I'll ever see it near me, but if I do, I'll definitely pick it up.
Feb 17, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Feb 11, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by heysuz from Indiana

Feb 11, 2018
Criminally Bad Elf from Ridgeway Brewing
Beer rating: 79 out of 100 with 342 ratings