Beach Brewing Blackfin

My sister bought me a bottle of Beach Brewing Blackfin for my birthday, a whiskey barrel aged barleywine. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy cream colored head that leaves a bubbly lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of caramel, fig, apricot, dark fruits, whiskey, and oak. The taste is smooth with a light bite to it. There’s plenty of caramel, fig, raisin, and apricot. A transition into whiskey and oak takes place and lasts long into the after taste. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. The whiskey flavors worked so well with the dark fruit and caramel flavors. This was one of the better barrel aged barleywines that I’ve have ever had.

Founders Bolt Cutter

I went to the Warwick Hotel in Hummelstown to try a glass of Founders Bolt Cutter. The beer pours a red-tinted amber color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of raisin, caramel, malts, grass, and pepper. The taste is sweet and smooth with a bold malty profile. Caramel, raisin, fig, and dark fruits are aplenty and the finish has a strong alcohol bite that is quite drying. The alcohol content is 15.0% ABV. This was a big and boozy beer that was very hot with alcohol. I think it could benefit from some aging, so I am glad that I got one bottle of it to stash away in the cellar.

Brauerei Hofstetten Seit 1229 Barleywine Ale

I picked up a bottle of Brauerei Hofstetten Seit 1229 Barleywine Ale from Discount Wines and Liquors in Boonton, NJ. The beer pours a raisin color with a bubbly cream colored head. The aroma consists of raisin, oak, caramel, and malts. The taste is dry with oak and a sweet raisin and fig base. Caramel comes out as well before oak appears again and dries out the finish with some peppery spice to it as well. The alcohol content is 8.6% ABV. This was an interesting brew with quite a different flavor than I was expecting. The oak flavor really dried out the beer, but thankfully it had enough of a sweet base to balance it out.

Three Floyds Behemoth Blonde Barleywine

Another beer I tried recently was Three Floyds Behemoth Blonde Barleywine. The beer pours a copper color with a frothy beige head. The aroma starts with caramel, but lemon and pine are prevalent on the nose. the taste is bitter up front with pine and lemon before the caramel backbone shines through and balances the flavor profile nicely. The alcohol content is 10.5% ABV. I was quite impressed as to how sweet this beer was, but the sweetness never took over as bitter citrus and pine hops took over the tongue and balanced the beer very well.

Shmaltz Brewing He'brew Genesis 15:15 Barrel Aged Harvest Barleywine Ale

My buddy Ed brought me back a bottle of Shmaltz Brewing He’brew Genesis 15:15 Barrel Aged Harvest Barleywine Ale from Atlanta. The beer pours a dark cherry color with a frothy tan head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of fig, raisin, pomegranate juice, grape juice, whiskey, cocoa powder, rye, and dates. The taste is sweet at first with plenty of raisin, date, and fig before a slight souring with pomegranate juice. There is a dark chocolate finish that is balanced very well with oak, whiskey, and rye. The after taste is light on grape juice, but a warmth takes over in the back of the mouth with some pepper. The alcohol content is 13.4% ABV. For as high alcohol content as this beer has and for as much as it does announce its presence, it was quite smooth and had a nice sweetness to it. The light fruitiness really makes the beer enjoyable, and the dry oakiness and rye stayed behind and made me remember this beer.

JoBoy's BrewPub Barleywine

On my way home from the Central Pennsylvania bottle share event, I stopped in to JoBoy's BrewPub to pick up take-out food, and decided to try the Barleywine while waiting on the food. The beer pours a dark amber color with a frothy off-white head. The aroma consists of raisin, malts, caramel, and alcohol. The taste is smooth but bites on the sides of the mouth. Caramel and raisin flavors are prevalent with a light pine and lemon hop bite. The is a nice warming alcohol burn on the finish. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. JoBoys created quite a delicious barleywine that balances biting hops and sweet raisin and caramel flavors, a feat that is paramount for all barleywines.

Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Jack and Ken's Ale

I stopped into Al's of Hampden to order a glass of Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary- Jack and Ken's Ale, a barleywine. The beer pours a dark brown color with a thin filmy head. The aroma consists of toasted malts, raisins, alcohol, and chocolate. The taste is sweet and smooth with lots of toasted malts, raisin, and chocolate. The beer then transitions into a big alcohol bite with a pine hop kick. There is a dry and bitter finish and after taste. The alcohol content is 10.2% ABV. This offering is a top notch barleywine and I wish this beer would be available full time. The amount of flavor that comes through is excellent, and it is not masked by the alcohol content, which can be dangerous.

Cricket Hill Reserve Ale- No. 3 Barleywine

Another bottle that my friend Jeff picked up from Cricket Hill for me was the Reserve Ale- No. 3 Barleywine. The beer pours brilliant amber color with a frothy white head that sticks to the side of the glass. The aroma is malty and sweet, with bits of orange peel, caramel, and toffee. The taste is sweet and malty with a good dose of raisin, toffee, and caramel. It has a slight orange zest on the finish with a modest compliment of dry hops. The alcohol content is not posted online, but I would guess around 8% ABV. This barleywine is everything that a barelywine should be, and I highly recommend checking it out. The orange zest that came with the drinking of this beer was a pleasant surprise and really rounded out the flavor.