15th Anniversary Double Wench - Middle Ages Brewing Co., Ltd.

yesyouam

New York

4.2/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Middle Ages Double Wench is a crystal clear, dense copper-brown ale with a thick, dense, beige head that has outstanding retention and lacing. It has a hoppy aroma, with notes of flowers, grass, citrus and pine. There's some caramel and a light sweetness from the malt. The malt and hops work together perfectly in the nose. It's full bodied and very smooth. The finish is dry and leaves the mouth a little chalky. It has a bold, resiny flavor that's very well balanced. There's the slightest bit of sweetness. There is a long, resiny bitterness that lingers. It's not super unique, but it's a big, bold beer that demands you take notice.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2010 16:05:53 | More by yesyouam

tdm168

North Carolina

4.18/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A - dark amber with a big, frothy, off white, brownish head that has great retention

S - big malts, caramel, candy sugar, some dark fruit, piney hops

T - caramel, burnt sugar, faint tropical fruit like fruit punch, earthy and piney bitter hop finish

M - full bodied, warming alcohol, well carbonated

This is a pretty solid offering. It's malt-forward and reminds me a lot of a Barleywine. The maltiness is primarily sticky caramel and burnt sugar. The hops are also intense adding some fruit initially but then offering a huge, bitter finish to balance things out. The ABV here is rather well hidden except for some warmth in the finish making this surprisingly and scarily drinkable. This is definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 01:08:16 | More by tdm168

JohnQVD

New York

5/5  rDev +24.1%

03-17-2013 19:27:17 | More by JohnQVD

Corey17

New York

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%

02-09-2013 12:39:00 | More by Corey17

DmanGTR

New York

4/5  rDev -0.7%

01-29-2013 17:55:14 | More by DmanGTR

Andragos

New York

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%

01-20-2013 09:32:49 | More by Andragos

BurgeoningBrewhead

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -0.7%

12-27-2012 03:43:42 | More by BurgeoningBrewhead

thebuck

4.75/5  rDev +17.9%

11-29-2012 02:48:49 | More by thebuck

ppoitras

Massachusetts

4.68/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

22oz bottle purchased as a single from Savemore Discount Beverage, Clifton Park, NY. Nice label.

Poured into am imperial pint, formed a 3/4" tan head over the cloudy reddish brown brew. Head is going nowhere fast, with chunky lacing. Aroma is green hops and alcohol.

Taste is sweet to start, citrus in the middle, and cruised to the close with a balance of rich grains and bitterness. Alcohol lingers after the swallow. Mouthfeel is wow smooth, and drinkability is superb, esp for the style. Hope this one stays in their lineup.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2012 21:15:36 | More by ppoitras

generallee

New York

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%

09-02-2012 13:16:31 | More by generallee

ABokononist

New York

4/5  rDev -0.7%

07-16-2012 01:12:26 | More by ABokononist

TurnX

5/5  rDev +24.1%

07-13-2012 18:22:52 | More by TurnX

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.33/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

650 mL bottle poured into a snifter. Reviewed from notes.

Appearance - Dark amber with a small off-white head. Good retention and ok lacing.

Smell - Like a barleywine. Booze, caramel, and hops, in that order. Definitely alcoholic.

Taste - Hot as hell. Tastes like a hot, boozy, undersweet barleywine. Caramel and way more bittering hops than are necessary. Boozy, bitter finish.

Mouthfeel - Bitter and boozy. Have I mentioned those attributes before? Tough to drink this, even slowly.

Overall - The best compliment I can give this is that it isn't a sugar bomb at 12%. Well attenuated.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 03:32:38 | More by Alieniloquium

jmdrpi

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle, no date

brown in color, off-white head. thin covering of head remains as I drink. a bit of piney hops and caramel sweetness in the aroma. pleasant.

doesn't taste of any booze, for the strength. toasty biscuit and caramel malt are balanced with strong hops. coats the tongue, but not thick. medium carbonation.

overall a nice strong ale that isn't over the top, and hides the ABV well.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2012 01:51:18 | More by jmdrpi

Edwaka01

New York

3.25/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from 22 into Duvel tulip.

A - Deep red/brown. Thin head with impressive retention time.

S - Hops, potpourri, and malts.

T - Hop-forward, but with a nice strong malt backbone to support the floralness of the boquet.

M - Nothing notable here. Full bodied, but for a 12% strong ale, it should be.

O - I enjoyed thoroughly, but don't know how soon the next enjoyment will be.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2012 00:35:50 | More by Edwaka01

Jeffo

Netherlands

4.1/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Another bottle provided by STEG in a recent trade. Thanks for the brews man!

From a bomber into a snifter.
Drunk right after the regular Wench.

APPEARANCE: Pours a two finger, thicker looking, fluffy, light tan head with good retention. A opaque rosewood red color with no carbonation evident. Head slowly fades to a good foam cap and slathers the glass with sheets of lacing. A splotchy wisp remains until the end and coats the glass with lacing. Similar to the regular Wench, but a tighter head and more opaque. Really good stuff.

SMELL: Definitely more malty than hoppy. Caramel, toffee and red fruits on the nose. Some grassy and piney hops are still there, but they’ve faded and allow the raspberries and cherry notes to shine through more. Lots of caramel, sugary malts here.

TASTE: This is great. Caramel, toffee, sweet grainy malts and lots of red fruits up front. Raspberries and cherries show up through the middle, leading to a nice grassy and piney hop finish. Big, bold aftertaste of bitter hops, pine, and some caramel and toffee sweetness lingers and lingers. The ABV is very well masked, and it’s very tasty and much hoppier than the nose had led on still. Good stuff.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. Slightly creamy on the palate, goes down fine and finishes slightly sticky on the palate. Heat has mellowed out nicely.

OVERALL: This was great stuff. Much bolder and more impressive than the regular Wench. While the hop aromas have perhaps fallen off a bit, the hop flavor is still quite present and enjoyable, and the malt base is very tasty on its own. Kind of an American Barleywine and Double IPA combined, which I guess means it gets thrown into the catch-all American Strong Ale category. Whatever it is, I like it and would definitely drink this one again. Thanks again for the trade STEG.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2011 14:22:44 | More by Jeffo

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4.03/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

an interesting treat, opened up right before the turkey came off the grill on thanksgiving. poured an unfiltered apple cider color, cloudy and red/brown, with a decent cream head. smells like a big barleywine, thick and malty, with notes of more elegant things like fruit, spice, and wood. the taste really surprised me here, much different then the wailing wench. there is a sharp citrus element and a definite hop presence. not a beer you could drink all day, but definitely a nice treat here and there, went great with the food! very very unique brew

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2011 19:49:15 | More by StonedTrippin

pauljunk

Virginia

5/5  rDev +24.1%

11-18-2011 04:27:58 | More by pauljunk

tclapper

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -0.7%

11-18-2011 00:07:14 | More by tclapper

FosterJM

California

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

923rd Review on BA
Bottle to CBS Snifter
22 oz bottle

Not sure the year on this.
Served at 56F

Thanks to mjtiernan for this one.

App- A very good mix of sentowns/reds and some copper highlights. A big two and a half globs into the snifter. A lot of pulled apart stringy lace shows. A bit of a melted ice ooze puddle on top.

Smell- Quite aromatic and thick. Mostly malt driven with a dense grain bill behind it. A somewhat citrus note is behind the malts with a soggy damp feel. A bit of a stinging booze nose radiates last.

Taste- Seems to taste like a mash up of a couple styles would. A good bit of body like a big barleywine, a thick malt presence like a red ale, a citrusy malt note of a DIPA. It's really not light on flavor similar to the Wenchs boobs aren't light on heft. A good tasting beer with a multifaceted depth of flavor.

Mouth- A bit of a medium body bordering on a creamy low feel. The carbonation level is right where it needs to be with a good bit of tingle and bubble behind it.

Drink- I personally liked this one for the kicked up strong ale note with more of the barleywine flavors vs wailing wench. Wailingh wench had the better mouth feel being a little more sweet where this is more malt/damp as a bigger ABV should. Both were good, but again as her cleavage is a bit bigger this score will be a bit bigger with the 4% raise in ABV.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2011 02:20:44 | More by FosterJM

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.18/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This may be a horrible beer if you're a fan of weak, timid, finess, and elegance. But if that's not your thing, then this is your beer! Caught somewhere between American Barleywines, Double IPA's, and the no-man's land where all these thing create a toasty and dry malt character- this beer is blazing the trail that's among the best of American Strong Ales.

The beer seeps into the glass with a voluminous pour of dark mohogany brown colors and redish highlights. The beer builds a dense, lighly tanned barley-stained head that is as withstanding as the best. Lacing evenly with every sip taken, the beer just has one of these dense and masculine appearances throughout.

Dense malt aromas of burnt toffee, heavy toast, butterscotch, light cocoa, and malted milk are covered with pine and citrus notes that are more reminescent of spruce and grapefruit. A light yeasty twang and mild estery fruits seem hardly distinguishable from hops. This beer promises strength in flavor. Let's see...

Malty-rich flavors of heavy toast, deeply caramelized sugars, earthy woodiness, butterscotch, and true barley malt in it's richest forms in a very stern and and robust profile. Not to be outdone, hop flavors make up ground just after the inital sweetness in form of sharp and citrusy white grapefruit, piney resins, freshly cut grass, rich wood tannins, and walnuts. Niether the hops, nor the malts dictate balance, leaving this beer dualing it out until the bitter-maltier end. Complementary notes of light yeasty tartness, estery apples and cherries, along with spicy black pepper; all weave in and out of the flavory mix- complex as hell when the beer delivers new flavors with each sip.

Full bodied with an emphasis on malt density, the carbonation engulfs the notion of creaminess in a cottony mouthfeel with malty weight and a dryness resulting from alcohol and hop resins. Malty-dry is schizophrenic in terms but seemingly the only way to fully describe the texture of this beer.

The linger of both hops and malt result in an aftertaste that's oddly memorable and terse, allowing for a full next drink well before you should at 12%. Similar to Stone's Double Bastard Ale, this Double Wench demonstrates many of the similar flavors but a more emphasis on toasty dryness, less malty-sweet caramel richness, and with a pronounced English-like tawny flavor with heightened fruity flavor and light buttery toast. Whew, you know when a beer is comples when it's difficult to wrap up a review!

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2011 04:14:57 | More by BEERchitect

tempest

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked up a bomber at the brewery for $10 to share with a couple fellow fans of Wailing Wench. I was surprised by how smooth this beer was for 12%. I also liked that for that strength it wasn't too thick or syrupy. The hops got a touch soapy, but otherwise had a balanced, fruity citrus character with mild pine and grass notes. If you like strong, but relatively drinkable beer (and wouldn't you?), check this out.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2011 02:04:33 | More by tempest

DaveHS

California

3.48/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

thanks to trxxpaxxs for this one.

A-Pours burnished orange/red with a rocky tan head that reduces slowly, leaving plenty of attractive, sticky lacing.

S-Honey, Kellogs Frosted Flakes, plum/prune sweetness, some booze.

T/M-Very malty and sweet up front, with an undercurrent of dry bittering hops. Unbalanced, with a really boozy finish. Heavy, sticky mouthfeel with low carbonation. Reminiscent of a Stone Double Bastard that's been left out too long.

O-Not one of the better beers I've had from Middle Ages. The balance of dry bitter hoppiness and sticky sweetness is tricky, and this beer is proof of that.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2011 01:15:32 | More by DaveHS

jzeilinger

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I happened to "stumble" upon this while traveling through Buffalo at one of my regular stops whenever I'm in town. Yep, it's Wailing Wench with a boob job. Since the bust area seems to be the popular topic of this beer, kudos to Middle Ages with their marketing creativity, it's one of those nuances I wouldn't have noticed. 'Guess that's what 17 years of marriage does...when you start noticing the eyes above anything else...good gawd, I'm getting old...

A - Pours a dark amber brown color with mild lacing, mild carbonation, and it sticks to the sides of the glass like sticky glue.

S - Mild resiny pine, dark fruit, biscuity malt, somewhat bready. Considering this was released back in the Fall and it's now the end of February (when this was sampled), I'm guessing the beer lost a little bit in the hop aroma department which is to be expected.

T - I'm actually getting some cooked apples in this (sounds crazy, I know), resiny pine, brown sugar, toasted caramel malt, dark fruit, and has a hop bite. There's a present alcohol warming on the way down and some citrus tang emerges about half way through. Plums, raisins, prunes, oak woodiness. Finishes semi-dry. Leaves a boozy, pine/citrus coating smeared with toasty plums and some brown sugar.

M - Heavy, medium body, gentle on the tongue, and eventually leaves your mouth watering once again for another sip.

D - Very good.

This is by far my most favorite beer from Middle Ages. It would be unfortunate if they decide to let this one die as a one off...it needs to be added to their regular rotation.

Serving type: on-tap

03-01-2011 23:17:44 | More by jzeilinger

jrallen34

Illinois

3.33/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle poured into my De Struise glass... A nice pour of a dark orange with hints of copper, semi clear but doesn't look dirty, just dark. A big light tan head that is very full, great retention and lacing, looks great... The aroma is very strong hops throughout but there is enough caramel malt on the front to break it up. Smells like a barleywine, I'm very intrigued... The hops attack to much on the palate, not balanced at all. A super hopped barleywine, lots of hops and alcohol on the finish. The more you drink the more alcohol comes out in this...The mouthfeel is light but very rough, too warm.

This is not very good. Way out of whack, gotta pass.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2011 00:02:29 | More by jrallen34