Stormwatcher's Winterfest - Pelican Pub & Brewery

ChadQuest

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

When you get a surprise box from a past trader it is always filled with good stuff. jtmartino is the man.

2011

Looks dark, dark brownish with amber on the edges with loose tan cap that dissipates out.
Nose is packed with sugar rolled caramelized dark fruits of assorted varieties.
Flavors are dense, rich, and sweet in the same way that a solid port is, so much viscous dark raisin and leathery brown sugars combined into a thick mouthfeel that is richer then an (insert hyperbole).

After drinking many bottles of Mother of all Storms, it is very interesting to drink the base beer. The barrels seem to really cut through into creating MOAS, which is why i love it, but this is a base beer that can take a big cut and still be around for more richness. Did i mention it was thick, rich and port like?

I drank this beer over the course of 4 hours. Most of my Solo BW adventures are done in this manor, it's the best way.

Love,
Chad

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2012 07:13:35 | More by ChadQuest

hopluva1

Washington

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

04-23-2013 19:18:48 | More by hopluva1

Hoppy_McMalt

Washington

4.75/5  rDev +13.4%

04-21-2013 01:12:36 | More by Hoppy_McMalt

johnnyboy76

Oregon

4/5  rDev -4.5%

03-20-2013 02:23:42 | More by johnnyboy76

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

3.99/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2009 Vintage shared by brewandbbq, thanks for the opportunity Jeff?
Pours a deep amber brown with a smallish off white head that dissipates quickly. Smells of brown sugar and toffee with a hint of smoke and chocolate. Light earthy herbal aroma rounds out the nose nicely. The flavor is sweet with sugary malts hints of cherry and toffee with some light earth and smoke. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a sweet slick mouthfeel. Hard to believe this is 13% but maybe the barrel aged stouts before this numbed my palette a bit. Nice English style barleywine that I'd like to revisit one day.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 01:24:30 | More by johnnnniee

mfavoino

Washington

4.35/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

2011 bottle shared four ways on 3/1/13.

A: Pours a deep brown with red highlights. Just a slight rim of head around the glass.

S: Rich caramel malts, dark fruit, toffee. Very rich indeed.

T: Huge toffee and caramel marts from the moment it hit the palate. Subtle dark fruit sweetness adds to the richness. Definitely get the same richness that I remember from MOAS.

M: A heavy, somewhat syrupy barleywine. A sipper for sure.

O: An incredible rich barleywine that impressed. It was interesting to have this to after MOAS, which definitely adds another component with the barrel.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2013 04:16:58 | More by mfavoino

KiMiRaiK

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

01-25-2013 04:45:50 | More by KiMiRaiK

Brandywine

Washington

3.96/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

2012

Appearance: Deep ruby red poured a fingers worth of a burnt sugar colored head. Big sticky alcohol legs. Tight lacing.

Smell: Cherries, dates, figs, caramel toffee sweetness, little bit of booze, raisins at the end.

Taste: Toffee sweetness with a kind of bready grain flavor. Dark fruits lie underneath. Booze here is acting as a flavor component. Dark fruits become more dominant as the beer warms. It's definitely sweet but there's an off sweet flavor that comes at the end of the tongue that's hard to identify. Raspberries, sour cherries. You can taste the toasted barley, where the sweet runs into an almost sour bitter character.

Mouthfeel: On the full side of medium. Very little carbonation.

Overall: The parts of this beer that I liked, I really liked, but the oddly sour/bitter flavor was off putting. The beer is also much thinner than I would have liked, especially for the style.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2013 07:07:09 | More by Brandywine

spycow

Illinois

4/5  rDev -4.5%

01-12-2013 07:14:02 | More by spycow

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

New Year's Eve, and just after a couple decent sized snow storms blew past. Here is the 2010 vintage thanks to oregone for this beer. Absolutely loved MoaS, and usually a big fan of aged Englaish barleywines, so hope this is good.

Pours a light fizzy 1/3 finger head that fades fairly quickly as the big bubbles pop but normal for a 13% abv beer, over a dark molasses colored beer, very little mahogany light streaming through, and despite not enough head for lacing there are some nice legs running down the sides.

Nose is very powerful, and I could smell it on the pour. Lots of dark malts, an aged malt goodness almost like a well done old ale, caramel, molasses, little syrupy, etc. Quite nutty, and plenty of toffee, like a nut covered toffee candy. Quite toasty as well, a little bready and chewy with the toastiness, and an overall deep malt sweetness and just that nice aged malt aroma.

Taste is similar to the nose, tons of malts, and various malts. Starts with a toasty malt, light bready and reddish like malts, leading into plenty of caramel and molasses flavors again. Then the dominant big time nutty and toffee flavors, so much of the two, and a little biscotti. Sweetness is quite a bit but not over sweet, even for me, which is also fairly syrupy and rich. This also leads into the booze, warming and slightly tingly booze, but doesn't feel nearly like 13% as it's balanced well by the sweet malts. It also brings light aged malt flavors, again like an old ale, as well as just hints of earthy hops and some light bitterness. Finish is where the bitterness comes out a bit but still light, with lots of lingering sweeteners, starting with an interesting coffee syrup flavor, tons more toffee and nutty flavors, molasses, caramel, and candy biscotti all lingering on the sticky semi sweet finish.

Mouth is full bodied, rich, syrupy, surprising fluffy carbonation, and some warming booze that doesn't nearly hit the 13%, until it's on the way down my throat (and after I'm feeling it halfway through the beer).

Overall quite a nice beer. I'm a fan of English Barleywines, especially when aged a couple years, so this should have been pretty good unless they screwed it up, and they didn't. Lots of malts that are nice, mostly toffee and nutty flavors, nice caramel and toasted malts as well, and a molasses and biscotti like flavors in there too. Nice light bitterness mostly on the back end, and soft aged malts. Booze is hidden fairly well, and it will get me buzzed quickly.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 02:55:32 | More by jlindros

beenitty

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

12-10-2012 17:37:45 | More by beenitty

t0rin0

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

12-07-2012 03:25:47 | More by t0rin0

ehammond1

California

4.3/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle (2011)

Acquired via online purchase

(Aged for 1 year)

Dark brown and dark amber in color with very little visible carbonation. This is darker than most barleywines and leaves very little, almost zero, stick down the glass. Still, a pretty color.

Good amounts of dark fruit character in the aroma--lots of fig and chocolate-covered raisins. There's some sweetness, caramel and toffee, along with some bread and alcohol.

A delicious barleywine. The amount of dark fruit character present in this beer is quite astounding and surprising, along with some moderate chocolate notes, bread, and booze. Complete. While clearly a big, high-ABV, this is incredibly drinkable.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

One of my absolutely favorite (non barrel-aged) barleywines.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 05:06:43 | More by ehammond1

WorldWideStout

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

09-18-2012 06:50:51 | More by WorldWideStout

zeledonia

Minnesota

3.73/5  rDev -11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

2010 vintage. Tasted 23 July 2012, reviewed from notes.

Pours deep chestnut brown, one finger of medium-tan head. Decent retention and okay lacing.

Smell is super malty and sugary. Molasses, plums, and figs.

Taste is very deep, rich, and sweet. A little too syrupy for my tastes.

Mouthfeel is fine - sticky and syrupy, but enough carbonation to keep it from being sludgy.

A good malty barleywine, though the sweetness is high enough that it's on the downslope (less would be better, more would definitely be worse).

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2012 22:52:38 | More by zeledonia

DarthKostrizer

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

07-20-2012 21:11:50 | More by DarthKostrizer

hoppymcgee

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

07-12-2012 13:30:12 | More by hoppymcgee

bsuedekum

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-23-2012 02:51:34 | More by bsuedekum

Devi0us

California

4/5  rDev -4.5%

05-19-2012 07:25:10 | More by Devi0us

dirtylou

Washington

3.95/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22oz bomber, split

appearance: served in my great lakes chalice - dark muddy garnet, cream mocha head

smell: rich and decadent - heavy english malt, leather, tobacco, brown sugar and dark fruit

taste: a prototypical english barleywine - syrupy caramel malt, caramelized brown sugar, pipe tobacco, fresh leather, booze, toffee, some earth english hops in the finish

mouthfeel: rich and sweet, full-bodied with a flat finish

overall: an english barleywine for the sipping - worth a try if you stumble across it

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2012 17:55:33 | More by dirtylou

nmbr0ne

Florida

4.08/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into snifter from 22oz bottle, dated 2011.

Appearance: Dark reddish-brown color. Very dark. No head. Barely any lacing.

Smell: Raisins. Hints of butterscotch. A little alcohol. Sweet.

Taste: Raisins again but not as dominant as in the smell. More caramel and subtle bits of vanilla. Sweet throughout with a surprisingly lingering bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium to thick bodied. Warming alcohol feeling after the finish. Decent carbonation. Somewhat smooth, but not really. Not heavy though.

Overall: I'm actually pleasantly surprised by the slight bitterness in the finish, and I welcome it. Most of the times barleywines are too sweet for my taste, but this one was good. I enjoyed it. Wish it looked more appealing though.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2012 18:24:57 | More by nmbr0ne

UCLABrewN84

California

3.95/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to ehammond1 for sharing this one at the post Bruery Reserve Society party bottle share!

2011 vintage.

Pours a murky dark brown with a tan head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. No lacing on this one. Smell is of malt, brown sugar, caramel/toffee, and some slight hop aromas. Taste is the same with a medium bitterness on the palate after each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good barleywine but I prefer Mother Of All Storms over this one.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 00:40:05 | More by UCLABrewN84

scottfrie

California

4.28/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2011 vintage poured into Portsmouth tulip. Thanks goes to a few guys from MA who drove out to OR and then down to CA to hand deliver me this bottle.

A: Pours a very dark ruby brown with a very thin head of light brown foam that quickly faded into a bubbly collar. A few spots of soapy lacing were left down the glass.
S: Tons of dark red fruits fill my nose including sweet red grape juice, raisins and figs, and lightly bitter cranberries. I get notes of toffee, caramel, and hop resin as well with maybe just a hint of vanilla and tobacco.
T: Roasted malts, brown sugar, toffee, caramel, and leather come through nicely. The dark fruits and grape juice come in the finish, and the aftertaste is full of tobacco and hop resin. I get a bit of booze but this beer isn’t hot at all. Flavors are very rich and dominating though, and this beer is definitely a sipper.
M: Thick and heavy mouthfeel, greasy, with a bit of warming alcohol. For being 13% this is a very drinkable beer. The body is full and dense, and the carbonation is tight and pretty tingly.
O: I had no problem selfishly finishing this whole bottle. A great sipper on a rainy day, and a great barleywine and beer all-around. Thanks again SneezyAchew.

EDIT: 2007 vintage consumed Jan 2013. Definitely tasting its age. Very drinkable but past its prime.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2012 00:32:28 | More by scottfrie

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.9/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 2 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

22 oz. bottle poured into a Swamp Head snifter. 2011 bottle courtesy of a very generous Hopsbreath.

Appearance - Deep garnet body with barely any bubbles. No lacing and just a couple of wisps of life atop the beer. Tough to produce a quality looking barleywine at 13.5%.

Smell - Wonderful aroma. Caramel, raisins, plums. Huge dark fruit presence. There's quite a bit of alcohol burn in it also. Great complex aroma.

Taste - Maybe not as good, but still delicious. More caramel and toffee than the nose. The fruits are a bit lost. Boozy in the finish with an earthy hop bitterness. I think it's hops. Tough to tell.

Mouthfeel - It isn't the booze that makes this a bit sluggish to drink, it's the bitter finish. Very earthy and grassy in the end and it seems a bit out of place. That isn't to say it isn't boozy. It certainly has a bite, but not a 13.5% bite.

Overall - A really nice barleywine in terms of flavor. Just the finish that makes it a bit harsh. I've been waiting to drink this before I tried MoAS. If a bit of barreling can chip away at that finish, I would be most pleased.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2012 03:01:15 | More by Alieniloquium

piclee

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

03-04-2012 01:55:50 | More by piclee