Not the biggest barleywine fan but I do like Harpoon and for less than 8 bucks a bomber I figured it was worth a try. Hey, same store sells the Shipyard barleywine for 10 bucks and Harpoon > Shipyard plus for a few bucks cheaper seems like a win to me.
I had hopes for Bronze King. It was honestly one of the worst beers I've had in years. I found it's taste to be very not barleywine-like at all. Also too sweet for me overall. Too much boozy sweetness, way too syrupy and candy like. I poured it down the drain and I rarely do that. It does seem like some people have rated it favorably so I hope you like it. For the price, liking it would be a bonus.
Yeah Im not a huge barleywine guy so my standards arent going to be as high as yours but we'll see. I got it for 7.59 and Ive never see a bomber of barleywine for that low before. Must have been on sale.
Hmm... while it wasn't my favorite barleywine, I found it drinkable just fine. And don't recall it being excessively sweet or, especially, candy-like.
Im drinking it tonight and I do get boozy sweetness, syrup and candy but its still okay and not bad enough to make me drain pour it. I wouldnt say its an excellent beer by any means.
Bronze King is an English Barleywine and a pretty fair offering coming from a big brewer like Harpoon. If you found the cloying sweetness and big boozy esters to be off-putting, you need to spend some more time in the English Barleywine department. Those are pretty much a given with EB's. Now AMERICAN Barleywine's on the otherhand, tend to be more-or-less malted up DIPA's... For the price, and the ABV, I found Bronze King to be a VERY solid beer.
Maybe my palate has changed, but this was quite disappointing compared to their previous Leviathan version. And at a more expensive price point compared to the Leviathan 4-packs at around $10 and I won't be getting BK again. Then again I have had Sebago amongst other quality barleywines recently so your taste may vary.
Not necessarily. I love many English barleywines. Just because a beer has a trait that is normal in the style doesn't mean it can't be over or under present. I'm glad you enjoyed it, but just because someone else didn't doesn't mean they don't have experience with the style.
