Rhinoceros - Telegraph Brewing Company

MiScusi

California

3.68/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Found this new beer on tap at Lucky Baldwin's Delirium Cafe in Sierra Madre during their extended Strong Ale fest.

6oz taster size served in a mini Chimay glass. The beer pours a brownish-red, head was minimal but maybe just because it was a small pour. The smell was nice and Rye, as you could probably guess. Came off like a less potent Rye Whiskey which I love. The taste was spicy, a bit strange, with lots of similarities to a barleywine. This beer wasn't really sweet but you could say it was malty. The body was medium, I think the Rye kept the body a little lighter, which is a good thing to me.

Serving type: on-tap

05-09-2009 15:17:11 | More by MiScusi

moonknight31

California

3.5/5  rDev -3%

05-19-2013 17:03:37 | More by moonknight31

Sarmartay

California

3.25/5  rDev -10%

05-14-2013 19:29:29 | More by Sarmartay

Brew33

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +17.7%

04-04-2013 13:41:54 | More by Brew33

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev +10.8%

02-27-2013 02:20:07 | More by t0rin0

kojevergas

California

2.79/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

Acquired for $11.00 at a local SoCal bottle shop. 10% ABV confirmed. 750ml brown glass bottle with hood and wire cap over a cork served into a New Belgium stem-goblet in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are above average; I quite fancy the style. I don't recall Telegraph ever impressing me, but there's a first time for everything.

Served after a brief period of rest following its removal from the refrigerator. Allowed to warm further over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a four finger beige-khaki colour head of nice cream and thickness and damn good retention for the high ABV (~5+ minutes). Decent lacing as the head recedes. Body colour is a semitransparent pale copper. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Translucent. Solid for the style. Surpasses my expectations; the retention is very impressive.

Sm: Heavy rye. Floral hops. Rye spiciness. Biscuit malt. No yeast character or alcohol is detectable. Where're the malts? A strange aroma for a barleywine. Some caramel and sweetness. It's a bland aroma all around. I'm starting to get suspicious. Moderately strong.

T: Rye malt and floral hops, with some bitterness and spiciness on the climax. No yeast character. A bit of alcohol does come through. It lacks the malty build of a good barleywine and brings little to the table. It's so simple and boring; there's just not much to say about it. A strange artificial vanilla sweetness hits on the finish. If you expect complexity from a barleywine, this is not the one for you. Strangly built and off-putting. Meh.

Mf: Coarse and wet. Thick but unnecessarily so; there aren't many flavours to support. A bit overcarbonated. Poor palate presence. Doesn't suit the flavours particularly well.

Dr: I regret paying $11 for this. I definitely wouldn't get it again. A poor barleywine from Telegraph; more boring and bland for this style than I thought was possible. Drinkable but underwhelming. Not recommended. Very pedestrian.

Low C

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 06:49:29 | More by kojevergas

Jspriest

Maryland

2.75/5  rDev -23.8%

01-22-2013 03:58:00 | More by Jspriest

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.09/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

I had this on tap at Holy Hound, served chilled in a snifter.

The color is deep amber w/ gentle haze and a thin white cap with tiny bead. The smell is fruity and floral with slight prune note. The feel is semi-dry with very mild sweetness and hint of medicinal tinge almost wild with herbal /spiced quality.

The flavor is slightly dry and there is a light band-aid influence with slight malt up front and mild floral hop aspect with light currant and berry-like element with woody hops in the finish. Overall, an ok beer, but not as good as I hoped based on my previous experience with this brewer -passable, but I would probably not order this again.

Serving type: on-tap

01-14-2013 17:52:32 | More by Slatetank

TheMarkE

California

3.89/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: Nice dark amber color, good head.

Smell: Rye, slightly floral, spicy, and more rye.

Taste: Very good. Complex, with rye, floral, citrus and more fighting for your attention. Great balance for something with such strong flavors.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a smooth finish.

Overall: Very good. Complex drink with a high ABV. Who could ask for more?

Serving type: on-tap

01-08-2013 22:38:56 | More by TheMarkE

tbone1384

Wyoming

4.25/5  rDev +17.7%

11-11-2012 15:08:36 | More by tbone1384

acurtis

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -16.9%

09-16-2012 17:32:51 | More by acurtis

djrn2

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -3%

09-13-2012 01:07:36 | More by djrn2

CheapBeerBuzz

California

3/5  rDev -16.9%

09-04-2012 22:05:12 | More by CheapBeerBuzz

claspada

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a reddish burnt orange with a full creamy white head, leaving good solid lacing.

Aromas begin with some caramel maltiness and a hint of hops, but very light for both. Searching for some depth from the supposed added rye malt but all I am getting is a sweet maltiness.

The tastes begin with a sweet/toasted biscuity maltiness mixed with some stone fruit and orange citrus notes. Hops are fairly minor which I wasn't expecting, much more English Barleywine style in overall flavor profile. A bit too sweet on the palate to be honest.

The mouthfeel is medium to full-bodied, with frothy carbonation. Finish is pretty smooth, but a bit too sweet overall, not enough hop character, more hops needed to balance.

Overall this was a bit of a disappointment, I wanted more hops or sharper rye maltiness that I was expecting from the description. Don't remember exactly what I paid for it but it was fairly expensive from what I recall. Regardless it is forgettable none-the-less.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2012 19:37:48 | More by claspada

Dope

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a reddish-brown with absolutely no head. Swirling it produces just a bit of fizz that disappears immediately. Little dots of lacing everywhere.

S: Figs, raisin and brown sugar. Molasses and toffee. Just a hint of caramel and rye.

T: Lots of molasses and toffee. Again with the fig, raisin and some prunes in the middle. Has a strong toffee presence throughout. Ends drying with some more toffee and some rye. Some bitterness from some earthy and possibly piney hops as well. No real sweetness that you normally get from a barleywine. Caramel is missing I'd say.

M: Quite dry, medium bodied. Very astringent.

O: A very different barleywine. Most are sweet, some overly so to the point of detriment. This is very dry with almost no sweetness. Even some prominent bitterness in there. Not hugely complex without the sweet elements of a typical barleywine and I get almost no rye either. Still a decent brew, I just promise it's not going to be what you expect from a beer like this.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2012 02:28:15 | More by Dope

PaBeerLover

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +31.6%

05-13-2012 23:08:10 | More by PaBeerLover

Exiled

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -3%

05-13-2012 00:36:29 | More by Exiled

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

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

First had: on tap at Teresa's, Wayne, PA

Poured a hazy reddish-orange color with a foamy cap of off-white head that retained well and coated the glass with lacing. Caramel in the nose, floral hops, and a vinous quality. The diversity of barleywines never ceases to amaze me. The taste reflects the aroma fairly well, biscuity malt base with hints of rye, floral and citrus hops, mildy tart pineapple, white wine, definite alcohol warmth. Medium body, a bit offsetting and puckering when you go in expecting a "typical" barleywine, but still a decent drinker overall.

Serving type: on-tap

05-08-2012 12:52:28 | More by Rifugium

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.25/5  rDev -10%

04-24-2012 07:36:39 | More by ygtbsm94

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

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

Poured out orange and light brown without a ton of head on it. Aroma was faint alcohol, more of an English style I was thinking already.

Caramel, sweetness, amber like malt flavors, alcohol heat that comes and goes. Can't really say the rye is jumping out on me. Maybe the heat I'm getting is the rye, but I don't think so. Kind of wondering where the hops are in this one, its a CA American barleywine right? It was a different barleywine, and once I got passed the first few oz, I settled in and enjoyed the beer a little more. A unique take on barleywine.

Thanks to Dave for bringing this to the table at March Madness.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2012 03:21:50 | More by Beerandraiderfan

WeisGuy

New York

3/5  rDev -16.9%

03-08-2012 04:04:39 | More by WeisGuy

BigMcLargeHuge

Arizona

3.7/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Hey the only problem with this beer and bottle is that the cork shot off with violence and broke a light fixture. At least the beer isn’t infected. So there’s that. Formerly corked and caged 750mL bottle pours clear copper with gold edges and tan head. The aroma has spicy hops, mild floral hop note and a decent enough pulse of pine hops too. Behind the hops is a modest level of malt sugary sweetness. The taste is similar with spicy hops, mango, passion fruit too and some floral hops all supported by sweeter notes of sugary malts and sweet apricot juice. Tastes pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2012 05:43:19 | More by BigMcLargeHuge

Skunkdrool

California

3/5  rDev -16.9%

01-23-2012 18:15:45 | More by Skunkdrool

MrHirschybar

California

2.5/5  rDev -30.7%

01-14-2012 08:53:43 | More by MrHirschybar

Rollzroyce21

California

4/5  rDev +10.8%

12-31-2011 23:38:11 | More by Rollzroyce21