Heavy Seas - Below Decks (Barley Wine Style Ale)
Heavy Seas Beer

Heavy Seas - Below Decks (Barley Wine Style Ale)Heavy Seas - Below Decks (Barley Wine Style Ale)
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From:
Heavy Seas Beer
 
Maryland, United States
Style:
English Barleywine
ABV:
10%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.63 | pDev: 13.77%
Reviews:
347
Ratings:
521
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 14, 2018
Added:
Sep 09, 2005
Wants:
  31
Gots:
  45
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Kraken:
Photo of Kraken
Reviewed by Kraken from Maryland

3.23/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Reviewed 1/12/09

Poured from a 12oz bottle into an over sized wine goblet. Very aggressive pour yields 1/2 inch of yellowish head that dissipates very quickly. Spotty lace at best. Color is a deep ruby brown.

Nose- some notes of caramel, and dark fruits. Vanilla and alcohol.

Palate- Tasty, caramel, vanilla. Noticeable alcohol. Very smooth in the mouth velvety. Some finishing hops, although not nearly as much as I expected.

Mouthfeel- lightly carbonated, velvety.

Drinkabillity- Strong, this is a fireside sipper.
Feb 03, 2009
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.4 by tankg from Pennsylvania

Apr 14, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by bigred89 from Maryland

Jan 14, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Sep 02, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by heysuz from Indiana

Sep 02, 2017
 
Rated: 4.38 by TylerGray27 from Connecticut

Jul 22, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by rspauldi from Texas

Jul 12, 2017
Photo of pathman
Rated by pathman from Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +24%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2/12/17 bottle (2011 vintage)
Feb 12, 2017
 
Rated: 4.25 by HopsForBrains from North Carolina

Dec 07, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by StoutAtTheDevil from Alabama

Apr 05, 2016
 
Rated: 3.53 by Kegatron from Pennsylvania

Jan 01, 2016
 
Rated: 2.92 by Farral from Wisconsin

Dec 17, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by ShadyRigglesbee from Indiana

Jul 10, 2015
 
Rated: 3.28 by LloydDobler from Indiana

Jul 02, 2015
Photo of Jadjunk
Reviewed by Jadjunk from Georgia

3.46/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
"An English style barleywine ale that can be enjoyed now or kept "below decks" as it becomes more complex as it ages." Brewed in the style of an English Barleywine ale. Available in 22 oz. bottles and on limited draft. Originally an annual winter release, discontinued following the 2012 season. I will review the most recent release (2012) alongside two older vintages (2011 & 2010).

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle to a snifter glass. Served above 59 degrees Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours a creamy frothed light caramel tan head over a deep cherry cola body with caramel highlights and high clarity, little sediment and light, relaxed carbonation. Retention is average and lacing is light and spotty. 3.75

(Smell) Bready caramel, toffee malt, moderate grainy esters, some mild fruit syrups of raisin and plum, reserved sweetness and aromatic qualities in general. Potency is mellow. 3.25

(Taste) English malts with a touch of toffee sweetness, light caramel syrup character, light to little fruit profile and not much graininess, fairly shallow flavor profile, perhaps preferable to newcomers of the style who prefer a lighter-bodied barleywine, not particularly satisfactory elsewhere. Concludes with a reserved alcohol finish. 3.5

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, residual, lightly oily, mildly dry. Carbonation is mild, generating a light frothiness and a lightly crisp finish. Body is light/medium for an English Barleywine, medium/heavy overall. Balance is slightly grainy over sweet. Alcohol presence is moderate and there are no off characters. 3.5

(Overall) Below Decks comes off to me as a Barleywine ale that doesn't take enough chances to stand out as a reputable Barleywine against other choices. Notably light bodied, with little flavor development of the malt profile or the yeast character. The alcohol profile is certainly there, but without a satisfactory malt backbone, it comes off as forced. The alcohol could easily be dialed down a few percentage points and create an enjoyable and more accessible style but as a barleywine, this is not one of Heavy Seas' stronger styles. 3.5

Vintage Notes:

2011 (3.5 Years Aged): Creamy frothed head of same color but shorter lived, body is a touch more opaque and denser with slightly more sediment, same carbonation. Holds a bit more fruit sugars and molasses than the 2012 batch, although even less malt presence, despite an ever present graininess, shallow potency. The flavor generates some more tart fruitiness and a slight edge of funk over 2012 but suffers from the same level of malt body shallowness with not a lot of malt character nor sweetness to round it out. The texture is slick, residual, lightly creamy, moderately dry. Carbonation is moderate with light frothiness and a moderately crisp finish. Alcohol presence is moderate. While I find this vintage an improvement over the evidently shallow 2012 version, it is still a shadow of its potential in malt body and character.

2010 (4.5 Years Aged): Light foamy head of a softer tan color with the most visual body depth of all, thicker flaked sediment, same carbonation. A trained nose may discern trace caramel and toffee, faint fruit syrups, surprisingly shallow and not particularly potent. The flavor of 2010 has the most caramel and toffee backbone, much better and more thorough malt profile than either of its successors and a slight fruitiness, still incredibly easy drinking at 10%, arguably shallow flavor profile still, but the most satisfactory of all. The texture is slick, lightly sticky, modestly chewy, moderately dry. Body falls shy of moderate for the style, alcohol presence is modest. Compared to the following two years of Barleywines, I can only suspect that corners may have been cut to generate an inferior product in the years that followed, and I think this is arguably the best of the three Barleywine vintages I have tried tonight, although it is still a step behind comparable beers of its style. I do not think that the ingredients going into this beer would make it a good aging beer. I could not predict how well this beer would fare past four years.

Recommended vintage: 2010, or just avoid altogether

Heavy Seas Beer's
Below Decks Barleywine Style Ale
3.46/5.00
Jun 26, 2015
Photo of Nickcal
Rated by Nickcal from Rhode Island

4.29/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
From the cellar. Brewed and bottled 2007. Aged very well lots of sediment on bottom.
May 29, 2015
 
Rated: 3.07 by IdrinkGas from Pennsylvania

Apr 08, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by yeaprolly from Washington

Mar 30, 2015
Photo of burly_enzymes
Rated by burly_enzymes from Connecticut

3.91/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2011 bottle poured in a whiskey tumbler
Mar 27, 2015
 
Rated: 3.4 by outoffocus from Pennsylvania

Mar 08, 2015
Heavy Seas - Below Decks (Barley Wine Style Ale) from Heavy Seas Beer
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 521 ratings