Barley Wine Ale
Brouwerij Emelisse

Barley Wine AleBarley Wine Ale
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From:
Brouwerij Emelisse
 
Netherlands
Style:
English Barleywine
ABV:
10.5%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.58 | pDev: 14.8%
Reviews:
29
Ratings:
53
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 23, 2017
Added:
May 24, 2010
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  4
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Mindcrime1000
Reviewed by Mindcrime1000 from South Dakota

3.63/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
Poured from single-serve bottle into a tulip. Purchased from the "discontinued" lot at the liquor store. A 2012 vintage consumed in 2017, so significant age on this bad boy.

Pours a dark caramel cloudy with a hint of garnet. Very little head that quickly dissipates, but excellent lacing all of the way down the glass throughout.

This style is elusive in terms of "for the style," but the aroma is "spot on" for me. Caramel, malts, and dark fruit aromas dominate, with a hint of oak and bourbon/vanilla in the background. The booze is definitely perceptible on the nose. Not very complex, but not offputting either.

The flavor is almost more "old ale" than barleywine, but bigger and bolder. Fruity, bready, malty, and boozy all at once. Almost like a fruitcake. A little off for the style, but still pretty solid. The alcohol is very subdued given the ABV, though the age on this bottle has probably helped tame the burn.

The feel is easily the thinnest barleywine I've had. However, good carbonation helps this one along.

Overall, a good barleywine but an odd one. Again, more evocative of an "old ale."
Apr 23, 2017
Photo of Marius
Reviewed by Marius from Netherlands

3.75/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle shared. Dark ruby-brown with a thin tan head. Dark fruit, grapes, fruit, dried fruit, alcohol, cherries. Medium body, low carbonation and a fruity light sour and bitter aftertaste.
Nov 19, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by AngusOg from North Carolina

Jan 21, 2016
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.59/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Ruby/orange/amber with spare head. Aroma of dark alcohol, malt, caramel and peat. Taste is smoother, and swwet , caramel, toffee, whiskey barrel. Slightly sour palate with alcohol warmth kicking in late. Nice fall beer.
Jan 08, 2016
Photo of NickTheGreat
Reviewed by NickTheGreat from Iowa

4/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
L (4) – Good dark reddish color. Kinda almost looks like a wine/brandy color. I like. Not much head, but I left a lot in the bottle due to yeastys.

S (4) – There’s a nice alcohol and fruity smell to this. But it smells like beer.

T (4) – I like the taste of this one. A little fruity, a little alcohol, and a little malt. I feel like it’s a little off of what a barleywine should be, but it’s very pleasant.

F (4) – A bit of a thin feel to it, but that’s okay.

O (4) – I’m far from a Barleywine connoisseur, and that one had been in my fridge for a LONG time. I finally drank it, and was glad I did. I don’t think that this would be one of my 3 deserted island beers, but I liked it well enough.
Dec 29, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by olradetbalder from Sweden

Dec 05, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by jzlyo from Iowa

Oct 23, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by jroberts8811 from Missouri

Sep 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Jul 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by KAF from Iowa

Jul 05, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by davidwhatshisnam from New York

May 03, 2014
Photo of beerdrifter
Reviewed by beerdrifter from Germany

3.93/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Picked this up at my favorite beer store in Belgium, Dranken Geers. 2010 vintage. An aggressive pour yields a one finger off-white head that fades quickly with a murky mahogany body with nice lacing. A subdued earthy, malty nose with hints of caramel, brown sugar, dark fruit, and just a touch of chocolate and vinous notes. The taste is malt forward with lots of caramel and brown bread along with hints of toffee, dark fruit, booze, subtle grapefruit, grape skins, and a touch of honey. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and slightly syrupy with nice carbonation and a subtle warming, bitter finish. Overall, I think this probably benefited from the cellaring. It was smooth and drinkable for such a high ABV.
May 01, 2014
Photo of Pencible
Reviewed by Pencible from Virginia

3.8/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Bottled 03/2013
Reviewed 02/2014

A: This poured an opaque mahogany with some sediment and a little light tan head.
S: It smelled like metallic copper hops and earthy nutty malt, with a little sweet dark fruit.
T: It tasted like honey wheat bread and earthy nutty malt, with some metallic copper hops and sweet dark fruit. It had a mostly clean bittersweet aftertaste with alcohol warming.
M: It was somewhat thick with moderate carbonation. Decent body.
D: This was an average barleywine. The scent and taste and body were all good but not great. The finish was a little harsh, so it wasn't easy to drink. Ok brew, but not impressive.
Apr 15, 2014
 
Rated: 2.5 by sendbeer from Georgia

Mar 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Beer-Ed from Netherlands

Feb 10, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Ed37 from Netherlands

Feb 03, 2014
Photo of jpro
Reviewed by jpro from Colorado

4.19/5  rDev +17%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
11.16oz bottle from CBX, poured into a snifter...

A: Cloudy, caramel body; light almond, quarter-finger head - which exhibits minimal retention / leaves zero lace.

S: Rich, bready, caramel malt aroma; crusty; pretty classic barleywine aroma.

T: Sweet caramel malt and light toffee; figs / dates; rum raisin / dark fruit notes; very rich and layered; as it warms, complexity is elevated.

M: Full body; low-medium carbonation; a touch viscous; has a bit of a dry finish, which is nice.

O: A nice, traditional barleywine; has a little alcohol kick to it, as it warms; quite enjoyable.
Aug 09, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by remitrom from Illinois

Aug 07, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Thomas_Picton from Florida

Jun 09, 2013
Photo of kvnstfrd
Reviewed by kvnstfrd from Missouri

3.84/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Poured from a 10.14 oz. bottle into a 16 oz. glass goblet.
Deep copper-red color with a foamy off-white head.
Sweet aromas of caramel with notes of freshly baked cake.
Flavor is strong and sweet with a light hop bitterness and a slight alcohol burn after the swallow.
Not as much body as I expected, but not too thin, either.
Overall, a nice non-English, English barleywine.
Jan 03, 2013
Barley Wine Ale from Brouwerij Emelisse
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 53 ratings