Old Embalmer '13 (Brothers Reserve)- Featuring X-431 Hops
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

Been in the cellar for two years, the grey wax version, it's time to

Light in color for a barleywine, golden brown.
Smell has a wine-y note, not quite sour but close.
Tastes much the same, poorly integrated sour note with next to no sweet barley.

I had high hopes, but this is a fail.

From a 22oz bottle, consumed on 12/26/2024

There was a slight hiss upon opening the bottle. This beer is a brown colored beer in the glass. What surprised me is the head. The head is 1 1/2 finger and tan in color. I am happy with the head retention, and there's a bit of lacing on the glass. Not seeing any floaties in the glass.
The aroma is quite strong in this beer. I do get lots of caramel and toffee notes. I get a good hit of dark fruit in here. There's a hint of a funky aroma, but not unpleasant.
Taste - The flavor starts off mild. I get a hint of cardboard which isn't the best. I get dark fruit, caramel, toffee, and some orange on the back. Not really getting any hops in here, but not surprised. There's some bitterness in the beer.
The body is full. There's some bubbliness. The feeling from the bitterness lingers.
I am glad I bought it, but this beer is past its prime for sure.

650 ml bottle, vintage 2013, yellow label and wax, Limited Edition No. 11. ABV is 10.2%. Featuring X-431 hops. At Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Amber colour, large head, slightly off-white. Strong sweetish aroma, notes of caramelized orange marmalade, notes of molasses and some fresh oranges too, hints of oak. Rich flavour, sweet and malty as expected, but not cloying or sickening. Citrus fruit and caramel again, with distinct bittering hops in the finish and aftertaste. Warming mouthfeel. Enjoyable.

Had seen various iterations of this brew on the shelves over the years...
Finally got one today... From a 22oz bottle, for $11.99 at Ayotte's in Hudson NH. Says vintage '13, Limited Edition No. 11, featuring X-431 hops, and a yellow waxed cap.

Poured about 1/2 into a small snifter... It's a clear, deep chestnut color with scant carbo. Head is quite thin; mostly some fine beige bubbles congregating around the rim. Lacing is on the light side. Smells very much like an English barleywine, like Victory Old Ho.... lots of malts and caramel... Body was a touch on the negative side of medium, though it was still fairly smooth.

Flavor follows with more caramel and toffee, with light sweetness. Has subtle brown sugar and brown bread, with intimations of rummy fruit-cake. Rates high on the booziness factor but somewhat low on complexity. I'll enjoy the rest of what I have, but won't get another at this cost. Maybe at 1/2 the price, but.... Prosit!

3.89/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

2008

This beer was bottled 8-1-13, I cellared it 9-12-14 and drank it 6-16-16

L: Pours hazy tea colored amber with a continuous stream of tiny bubbles rising to the top, refreshing a thin, 1/3” tan colored foam cap that reduces to a thin bubbly film in about 2 minutes.

S: Fruit with some sherry to port notes, some rich malts and definite wine aromas joined by a little sweet sugary aroma with hints of caramel to light molasses.

T: Fruit, light dried fruit, a boozy element, hints of sherry and rich malt. As it warms the malt flavors intensify and more sherry comes forward. Nothing cloying or harsh.

F: Very creamy, slightly hot and not as thick as one might expect with the intensity of the malt and alcohol. The carbonation is medium low but very soft and the body is medium high.

O: A delightful, full flavored barley wine that has aged very well.

 

 

 

 

 

Holly smokes, I really like this beer. I've rated it highly but it does not taste like your typical barely wine. This is more Old Ale than Barleywine. I guess the wine barrel aging gives this beer its twist.

A - A slightly hazy rusty brown with a one finger beige head.
T - Low attenuation, vinous qualities, with herbal bitterness.
MF - Dry finish

A nice discount find at $5.99.

A- Pours a murky, medium brown in color, with a ton of rust colors in there. A small to medium sized head of about 1.5 fingers forms and hangs around a bit with a good bit of lacing.

S- Straight, classic, strong barleywine scents here. A combo platter of medium to dark malts and dark fruits. A fig presence is in there. After the strong malts and fruit flavors subside a little, the alcohol kicks in a bit. Just a touch of grainy yeast as the smell fades away.

T- After all this time in the bottle, the hops are still in there and kicking. The first flavor that hits the tongue is moderately bitter hops mixed with an alcohol bite. The medium to dark malts kick in a bit right after the hops and booze fade away and the dark fruits also pick up a little bit. The dark fruits and malts are much less prominent in the taste than the scent.

M- You can definitely taste the alcohol bitterness in this one in both taste and scent, but the warmth and burn is minimal, making this a really easy drink for the ABV level. Really smooth on the whole for the stats and taste profile of this beer.

Overall, this isn't anything extremely unique for a barleywine, but if you are a fan of a more bitter, hoppy barleywine, this is definitely a solid beer. The hops have definitely held up over time in this beer.

 

 

A: This poured a murky copper with moderate tan head.
S: It smelled like artificial caramel and sourdough bread, with some waxy hops maybe.
T: It tasted like sugary caramel and wild honey, with some waxy hops and sourdough bread. It had a clean mostly sweet aftertaste.
M: It was somewhat thick with a little carbonation. Nice slick body.
D: This was an ok barleywine, with a little odd scent and taste. Maybe the hops were just starting to fade? The body was solid and the alcohol was well hidden, so it was easy to drink anyway. More age might improve. At this point, it's below average for the style.

Not sure if I am doing this right but there is no Old embalmer '13 brothers reserve featuring x-431 hops listed this is definitely a different beer than the old embalmer and the barrel aged old embalmer. This beer comes with yellow wax
First this beer has a nice dark caramel color with a a fairly light colored rapidly diminishing head. The aroma is sweet with some hops that a little muted and hard to associate with anything but well hops . The taste is where is feel like this beer went wrong. It was to hoppy it made it really hard to pick up on any of the malt notes, which I didn't pick up behind the bitter hop wall. The mouthfeel of this beer was actually kind of light maybe due to the high carbonation on this beer. It was a little over carbonated for the style. This was almost more of a double IPA than a barley wine. The one awesome part of this beer was you can't tell its 10.2% there are no hot alcohol notes and the hops really take away from the sweet sugars of normal barley wines.