Big Bang
No-Li Brewhouse

Bomber from Winco. Reddish copper body with small soapy beige. ABV announces itself in the aroma, along with notes of vanilla extract, grapefruit, whiskey, and rum. Taste comes in with a nice malt profile, brown sugar and some hop bitterness. Alcohol burn way back in the finish. Good sold barley wine.

Aged bomber split 3 ways - not dated but suspect 2015-2016 vintage.
Pours a bright clear reddish copper with scant khaki head - subsequent pours got the dregs and decidedly not clear!
Aroma malty caramel, toffee, fermented dark fruit, spicy hops with a hint of acetone.
Taste is again malty sweet - caramel, bit of dark fruit, spicy slight bitter hop, and boozy - a bit of fusel note on swallow.
Thinner than anticipated mouthfeel - lighter side of medium, a bit of sticky bittersweetness on the palate and warming effects of booze in esophagus.

 

This is poured into a snifter. The appearance was a nice looking hazy dark amber color with a slim finger’s worth of white foamy head that dissipated immediately. Barely any lacing appeared. The smell had a full malty caramel sweetness with an adequate sticky vanilla leading to a decent dry hoppy spiced tobacco aroma. The taste was mainly sweet with the tobacco here and there to balance. There’s a super dry sticky caramel aftertaste leading to a dry sticky finish. On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. It’s pretty dry as it rolls across my tongue. Overall, I say it was a decent American Barleywine.

 

22oz bottle purchased from the Whole Foods in Bellevue, WA
Poured into a standard wine glass – hotel room style!
Notes taken on 02/11/2015

A: The pour is a dark caramel amber body with minimal visibility made through the glass. Has a nice rosiness to it that looks quite appealing in the wine glass for some reason. Topped by a densely packed head of khaki suds. Nice hang time observed along with a few scattered dots of stick left behind.

S: Smells like a big and juicy b-wine to me. Malt toffee and figgy pudding with some spiced nougat up front. Then a following of pine and earthy hops there. Finishes out with a sharp alcohol spiced kick. Definitely comes off a little hot in the aroma. Not all that bad but a little clunky at times.

T: Massive malt juice in the form of candied nougat, toffee, caramelized fig, and darkened breads. The hops lend in some pine and earthy spice notes and there is enough hop bitterness to help balance all the sweetness. The alcohol comes off a little harsh at first but does start to integrate a little finer towards room temps I find. Finishes with more sticky toffee and alcohol spice. This one is definitely not shy.

M: The feel is actually a bit lighter than expected for such a big brew. Has a nice frothy consistency despite being a full bodied brew. Still a light chewiness there. Moderately high amount of bitters pepper the palate and there is a hot alcohol finish.

D: Make no mistake…this one is a bruiser. Packs a wallop in both malt, hops, and ABV. Does start to settle as the beer warms to room temps but not much complexity or anything to write home about really. That said, for a mere $5 per bottle this is a solid bang for your buck! See what I did there…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours ruby-orange-copper, clear, with visible carbonation, body medium-light in appearance, and a decent off-white header.
Smells like vanilla/ malts, faint smell of cotton candy sweet sweetness.
Tastes of sweet caramel upfront, then dries to a raw grain profile with a boozy bite that lingers.
Nothing harsh. Having tried several winners in this style, I can say this lacks depth and complexity of flavors. Could be worse, could be better.
Oh, and does anybody want booze? It's here.
Body is light yet smooth and slick.
Overall, something to sip, although likely not again soon.

 

L- Dark amber body.

S- Sweet malts and booze, not very strong on the nose.

T- Caramel, maybe plum, slight hop bitter balances it out. Oh, and boozey.

F- Nice thick body.

O- Good barleywine, nothing to write home about though.

Bottle.
Appearance: burnt orange. Crystal clear. Thick, foamy cream colored head.
Smell: light caramel. Light alcohol.
Taste: grainy. Weird. Alcohol. Can't put words to it.....not great.
Mouthfeel: medium carbonation. Medium body. Sweet.
Overall: not horrible. Not good. Missed the mark on this one. Will not buy again.

22 oz. bomber, opened at about 50 degrees. Head dissipates quickly but light lacing is retained for a while. Nice amber color, and smell is light and not too noticeable. Tastes very bitter and woodsy, not a bad taste but might be too strong for those used to a smoother barleywine. Noticeable taste of peat and alcohol, or more like apricot brandy that has been aged in peaty single malt whisky casks. Reminds me of Japanese plum wine a bit. Though bitter hops are strong, almost numbing: not a bad thing for me--actually quite enjoyable.This is not balanced by a weaker but still very noticeable malt bill. Good for those who like hop-forward barleywines, per typical PNW beer.

220Z bottle picked up at the Brewers Haven Paid about $6.50.. Poured a deep amber/clear light brown... Khaki head shows great retention and lacing... Nose has a big mash-up of toffee, dark toast, citrus zest hops and something that I associate with anise, but the licorice could just be in my imagination.. Pretty traditional PNW barleywine palate.. Brash bitterness balanced nicely by a big malt bill that starts a little sweet but ends on the dry side... Proper barleywine.