Critical Hit - Ninkasi Brewing Company

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.83/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

2010 properly cellared bottle poured into an Elysian snifter. Pours a reddish coppery amber with a thin off-white head that dissipates to a thin persistent film and lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, sweet dark fruit and a hint of citrus. Flavor of mellow caramel malt, dried dark fruit, alcohol and grassy hops. Finish is somewhat abrupt, but leaves a long lasting grassy, earthy hop bite. Medium bodied with a hint of creaminess. Initial flavors are well balance, but subdued; the finish is hot and hoppy. A decent barley wine that could use a bit more balance between the malt/fruit components and the finishing hops and alcohol heat. I'm glad I cellared this for a couple of years, I think the hops would have been overwhelming in the fresh bottle. I will cellar another bottle for a bit longer, I think it will stand up to more aging nicely and may bring better balance.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2013 03:54:09 | More by LiquidAmber

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.24/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

The 2009 version, on tap at Bier Stein the other day.

The beer pours a somewhat darker, copper amber color with good head retetention and lacing. The nose is impressive in this one, as I get considerable malt, dry citrus, vanilla and brown sugar. This beer smells like a big old, hoppy barleywine. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely, and put me in mind of an aged version of Bigfoot. There beer has some nice, slightly oxidized, aged ale flavor components that is pretty nice, which blends well with the brown sugar, sweet malt and considerable hoppy bitterness. Mouthfeel is fairly full in this moderately sweet beer, and the finish is long and fairly dry, due to the considerable boost of hoppy bitterness. Alcohol is noticeable, but this beer is not at all hot or tiring on the palate.

A fine beer, but I was happy with the small taster I got of it at BS. That's really all I needed.

Serving type: on-tap

05-13-2013 22:26:35 | More by johnmichaelsen

johnnyboy76

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -3%

04-20-2013 04:24:09 | More by johnnyboy76

davey101

Connecticut

3.38/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

2010 Reserve, Bottle #2503/5000, 22 oz bomber into a Bolt Cutter glass.

A - Has that perfect barleywine look to it. A nice burnt amber body that is slightly hazy and three fingers of dense light khaki foam with large bubbles that just coats the sides with killer lacing when swirled.

S - Very boozy with dark fruits, some faded piney hops, and lasting toffee and caramel. Pretty rich and bold, but really just too much of an alcohol presence.

T - A muted combination of toffee and faded piney hops. Slick and oily which is great given the style but everything is just so boring here. Finishes with a high level of bitterness and an unpleasant booziness. Mouth feel is nice and creamy though.

O - This left a lot to be desired. Not sure if its the age on it, but its just not a very interesting barleywine. A bit too boozy and the hops flavors are mostly faded but the bitterness is still kicking around. Meh...

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2013 03:32:07 | More by davey101

Amerikon

California

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%

04-13-2013 03:59:39 | More by Amerikon

Kerfluffel

Washington

3.38/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

2011 Vintage. 22 oz served in a snifter.

a: deep garnet with a tinge of brown. Head off white that dissipates quickly leaving tight lacing and sticky bubbles on the edge of the glass. Lacing lingers all the way through

s: aroma starts with burnt sugar, almond toffee, toasted grain, dried black mission figs, and a spicy, earthy, and herb note from the hops. Is that a mushroom note in there? Undertone of alcohol and a whiskey like pineapple note.

t: flavor starts with a bright citrus with notes of toffee, caramelized sugar, dates, figs, earthy and spicy hops, bitterness is clean, strong but soft and lingers on. Alcohol noticeable.

m: medium full body with very low carbonation (acceptable to me in this style). Lingering bitterness that shows its age and a fairly dry finish.

o: good barleywine but not as profound as I had expected. Nice and rich full flavor with a great nose.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 00:32:13 | More by Kerfluffel

powdersoldier

Washington

4.25/5  rDev +17.7%

03-16-2013 17:23:31 | More by powdersoldier

barleywinefiend

Washington

2.5/5  rDev -30.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

2010 vintage #2279/5000

A: Poured a sherry-orangish color with good carbonation and a dirty white head. Quite a bit of lacing on this one

S: Faded pine, some citrus and cardboard with some bread

T: initial taste of citrus followed by a dash of heat and then some dish soap, cardboard oxidation, faded hops and a long bittering presence on the end. Really hard to get pass the dish soap and cardboard.

M: Mouthfeel is bitter, well carbonated, medium-big to big body with pine, a tad bit hot.

O: It was not that great fresh and now its just plain harsh. Not a candidate for aging.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2013 11:46:02 | More by barleywinefiend

irishgreensoda

Washington

4.25/5  rDev +17.7%

03-11-2013 04:21:00 | More by irishgreensoda

ZRBE

Oregon

3.25/5  rDev -10%

02-28-2013 05:31:35 | More by ZRBE

Massbmx

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%

02-27-2013 05:35:15 | More by Massbmx

chugamugofsud

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +24.7%

02-21-2013 18:46:25 | More by chugamugofsud

Hoptometrist

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Vintage 2009 served on tap into a stemmed ale glass

A- Poured a reddisgh brown color with a big frothy off-white head that left glass coating lace

S- Very sweet aroma, blueberries, molasses, lots of alcohol, very strong aroma

T- Big sweet blueberry and berry sweetness, rich toffee, lots of breadiness and alcohol. There is a certain taste I taste in all barleywines and this one definitely has it . This is pretty sweet and boozy

M- Light alcohol burn, huge alcohol warming, fuller bodied, soft carbonation. Not as sticky and burning as other barleywines. This actually has a really nice mouthfeel.

O- Barleywines are just not really my style, but I really do enjoy this better than most. The flavors are pretty nice and the mouthfeel is great. Still pretty sweet and alcoholic for my palate. I like Bigfoot better but this is still one of the better barleywines I have had.

Serving type: on-tap

02-14-2013 05:19:38 | More by Hoptometrist

Kevlee722

Washington

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%

02-09-2013 08:40:08 | More by Kevlee722

mactrail

California

2.6/5  rDev -28%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a hazy dark reddish amber in the Duvel tulip. Plenty of foam but it does dissipate down to zero lacing before too long.

Murky flavors. Quite bitter. A stew of muddy tastes. About as undrinkable a Barleywine as I've had. Caramel apple taste with a little wintergreen and yams. So sweet plus the hot alcohol taste. Bitter aftertaste is not pleasant with the sugary rush. Woody with burnt sugar.

I call it a Critical Miss. I don't know what's wrong with Ninkasi, they seem to always have variations on dirty, earth, murky flavors. From the 22 oz bottle bought at Beer Revolution in Oakland.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2013 08:47:15 | More by mactrail

Kopfschuss

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%

12-07-2012 17:55:05 | More by Kopfschuss

ngeunit1

California

4.33/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a cloudy amber-orange color with a finger of frothy off-white head. The head fades down at a normal pace leaving behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix of sweet caramel malts with some brown sugar, grapefruit and pine hops, and some booze.

T - Starts off with some sweet caramel malts and caramelized sugars with some brown sugar, a touch of dark fruit, and some grapefruit and citrus hops and bitterness. Through the middle, some pine hops come through with some more resiny bitterness with some more caramelized malts. The finish is a mix of sweet caramel malts, caramelized sugars, grapefruit and pine hops, some bitterness, and some booze.

M - Full bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a sweet, bitter, and warming finish.

D - Very drinkable. Nice big bold barleywine with a surprisingly high level of smoothness and drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2012 05:45:16 | More by ngeunit1

Aml42000

Washington

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

A- Very pretty dark amber with a two finger head. Beautiful lacing.

S- Caramel and orange zest with some hop aromatics.

T- Some honeyed citrus flavor, unfortunately a touch medicinal, and loads and loads of hops. Searingly bitter.

M- Soft with medium carbonation and a medium body. Lingering hoppy aftertaste.

O- An aggressively hopped, well intentioned American Barleywine which is really more like a Triple IPA. I like this brewery and like to support them, but drinking this makes one wonder why I'm not just enjoying a Bigfoot or Old Guardian as they pull this style off a bit better. I do love the name and label.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2012 00:49:25 | More by Aml42000

Bfarr

Washington

2.45/5  rDev -32.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Clear, dark copper and thin tan head with good retention. Caramel sweetness and floral hop aroma. Hop bitterness up front with citrus and floral with caramel and a subtle chocolate in the middle. Long hop linger. Slick, sticky feel.

This seems to be a basic but very over-hopped Barleywine that must have been hopped 6 ways from Sunday to be this hoppy after 2 years. There’s no good combination of flavor and the hop bitterness just overpowers any flavor in it. Maybe this will be better in another year or 7 and definitely needs more of a complex malt combination because otherwise it seems more like an Imperial IPA. This is way too expensive and a poor beer as well. Just goes to show, throw a cool label with a serial number on it and some wax on the top and suckers will shell out $13 for a crappy beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2012 23:41:37 | More by Bfarr

Exiled

Texas

4/5  rDev +10.8%

05-27-2012 18:34:55 | More by Exiled

RoryOMoore

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +17.7%

04-01-2012 04:38:28 | More by RoryOMoore

birchstick

Missouri

4/5  rDev +10.8%

03-28-2012 02:22:16 | More by birchstick

bsuedekum

Missouri

3/5  rDev -16.9%

03-28-2012 01:39:28 | More by bsuedekum

MaltsOfGlory

Oregon

3.93/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

(Shortened) Pours a nice and solid one finger head into my standard pint glass. The head is mostly medium bubbles, but a decent amount of small bubbles as well. The head is just a hair off white, slightly tan, with some yellow in it. Not very creamy looking. Not really any other descriptive characteristics to it other than "average", it's not too soapy, nor pillowy, just average. The lacing looks like it will be good, but we will have to see for sure as I get down the glass. Head retention is pretty decent, I still have about a quarter finger of head left. Overall not a bad looking head, somewhat average as far as bubbles go, but pretty nice none the less. The body is pretty damn cloudy. I know this has 100+ IBU's, so I'm expecting it to have a lot of IPA characteristics, the appearance for sure does. It's very cloudy, the visibility is almost zero through the beer. The color is a dark orange, almost like a maple color. Hints of gold and brown in the color as well. From what I can see the carbonation looks pretty low. Overall it's a slightly different looking beer, but heck it's a 100+ IBU barleywine, that's not normal either. We will see how the lacing turns out, but overall it's a good looking beer so far. Well it for sure smells like a barleywine. On the nose you get a huge fruity smell to start things off, mangos, pears, apples. For sure a lighter fruit smell, pretty nice actually, it compliments the beer nicely. There is for sure a alcohol presence on the nose, but it is somewhat covered up by a big sweetness that is present as well. That's not necessarily a good thing because overly sweet beers are annoying too, but it is better than having a beer that tastes so boozy you can barely put it down your throat. Honestly I'm really not getting that big hop smell that I should be getting with a 100+ IBU beer. I don't really care that much, because the beer still smells good, it's just a little annoying because that was a big part to Ninkasi's marketing of this beer. I mean there are a little but of hops, but they are extremely covered up by the smell of fruit, alcohol and sweetness. A little small maltyness as well, but again it's immensely covered up. Overall it's a good smelling beer, I really enjoy the fruit complexity and the overall complexity of the beer. It's really not an unusual smell for a barleywine either, the lack of hops and malts, but there should be more considering the marketing. Anyways, overall a good smelling beer, if I was a bigger fan of barleywines it might get a 4.5. Well I am going to be in for a long night with this beer, HOLY CRAP! 11.7% ABV?!?!?! This beer tastes like 6% or 7% ABV, this is insane. I mean the alcohol presence is just way below what it should be, A+ there. I mean yo can taste the alcohol, there is a little in the taste, and a little more in the aftertaste, but crap it's low all considering. As for the rest of the taste, FRUIT. I get a whole lot of fruit here, honestly it tastes more like cider than beer. Mangos, peaches, apples, pears, a lot of light fruit here. Pretty big sweetness to go along with that, but not a gross sweetness at all. I mean the hops in this beer is just excruciatingly small, I mean this tastes like an amber level of hops to me. Like I said, not a problem really, but they marketed it incorrectly. Tiny malt flavor, but like the hops, extremely covered up by the other flavors. Really it's just mostly all fruit, followed by some alcohol and sweetness. It's a good flavor, but honestly considering everything, it's a little watery on the flavor. I mean the fruit is there, and in some ways it's very complex, and full of flavor. But in other ways it's slightly watery in flavor. It's not the end of the world, it's still a good flavor, but it should be noted that it's not the 100% full flavor you get out of a world class beer. Overall good flavor. I've only had a few barleywines, and I can't quite remember the mouthfeel. The mouthfeel of this beer somewhat works with the overall feel of the beer, but I still don't really like it. The carbonation is extremely low, like it's barely there at all, one of the lowest carbonated (if not the lowest) beers I've EVER had in my ENTIRE life. The body has a tiny bit of thickness to it for about a second, and then it's just watery, and I never like that. I mean, like I said it kinda works for the style, cause it's a slow drinking beer, but I would enjoy something thicker and slightly more carbonated. I'm going to give it a 3.5 because it works for the overall feel of the beer, but let it be known that that is an extremely generous rating. The drinkability, like I said, is extremely good, probably the best alcohol-to-drinkability-ratio-beer, I have ever had. It's not easy to drink, don't get me wrong, but it's light years easier than it should be. Overall this is a good beer, it's somewhat unique in a few areas.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2012 10:42:12 | More by MaltsOfGlory

pixieskid

France

4.25/5  rDev +17.7%

03-17-2012 11:19:47 | More by pixieskid