King Henry - Goose Island Beer Co.

BlurryVisi0n

New York

4.85/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Served in a goblet glass. Vintage bottle dated 10/08/2011, poured 10/29/2012.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy amber but settles to a deep mahogany that is almost opaque. Head bubbly and rose to maybe 1/3" coming a brownish orange.

Smell: Strong barley but the scent comes and goes...if it was one of those beers with this same aroma but that just stuck to your nose it would be pretty much perfect.

Taste: Deep toffee, and a slight fruitiness that goes to it. Lightly bitter and a sweet taste to it that you can only compare it to wine. Almost like a pinot noir but better. There is some type of vanilla extract that gives it just a little extra. You feel the alcohol and that offset of sweetness.

Mouth:A little dry but everlasting sticky. It's fruitiness and strong alcohol after feel is what you are going to reminisce about.

Overall: This beer is f'n incredible...I have fallen in lust with this one and easily the best barley wine I have had. I will not think twice if i see this again and when in season will become my usual. On this note i will finish this beer with a splendid cigar...Salud!

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2012 04:53:53 | More by BlurryVisi0n

mrandypandy

Georgia

4.75/5  rDev +1.3%

06-17-2013 17:08:12 | More by mrandypandy

Roger85

Illinois

5/5  rDev +6.6%

06-17-2013 00:20:38 | More by Roger85

josephwa

Minnesota

4.75/5  rDev +1.3%

06-16-2013 04:43:25 | More by josephwa

jeonseh

Indiana

4.69/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Bottle

A - Dark brown and ruby body. Looks a bit like whiskey actually as it has a warming look to it.

S - Slight dates and dark fruit initially. The barrel really shines through as you get lots of sweet bourbon and a good oak presence

T - Dark fruit and a strong date presence comes through initially. There is a ton of bourbon and butterscotch that give it a nice sweetness along with a nice bourbon presence. There is the most chocolately barleywine that I've had as well which is where you can tell that this was aged in second use BCBS barrels. This adds such a nice complexity that you don't normally find in BW's. The finish is pure bourbon and oak.

M - Medium body with light stickiness that makes this easy to drink but helps deliver the flavor. The finish has lots of oaky spiciness to it.

O - Great barleywine with tons of barrel and chocolate presence to it. Definitely lived up to my expectations. This one is still drinking great and is super balanced.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 16:44:21 | More by jeonseh

mindspin315

New Jersey

4.84/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

This is seriously a beer to end all beers. If any barrel aged English BW can get better, let me know? (Ok, I see you lurking Kuhnhenn BBBW).

Appearance: Dark ruby hued brown body. A sort of head forms quickly and dissipates equally as fast. Lots of lacing and legs.

Smell: Huge fresh oak, caramel, toffee, bourbon, and hints of dark chocolate. Other aromas of come through such as dark fruits (raisins, figs, plum, black cherry), vanilla from the wood, toasted coconut, sweet apple skin, and a faint roasted nuttiness (pecans), tobacco. Light sherry and port wine presence as well. Incredible aroma. You could pull plenty of different aromas with each smell.

Taste: The light aroma presence of sherry/port wine comes out big in the flavor. Sweet apple skin, caramel, toffee, and figs upfront. One of the biggest tastes is toasted coconut. The palate is left with plenty of flavor. Everything from to sweet caramel/toffee, dark fruits, bourbon, char, and vanilla. Along with a mild dark chocolate presence.

Feel: Low carb...not flat, but not gonna tickle your tongue. Incredibly smooth, glides across the palate with a heat that would never tell you this is 13%. Def knows how to coat the palate and stick around. Mild alcohol heat (incredible for the high ABV).

King Henry is absolutely amazing. It is worthy of all the hype it gets! From aroma to feel, I can't name a beer that does it better for the style. This is most def a sipper to be enjoyed with company. Although going solo on this wouldn't be a bad decision either!

[100/100]

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 07:31:37 | More by mindspin315

Ayelikebeer

Illinois

5/5  rDev +6.6%

06-14-2013 17:53:13 | More by Ayelikebeer

Wade5614

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +1.3%

06-09-2013 05:30:58 | More by Wade5614

Benny3000

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +1.3%

06-09-2013 02:24:07 | More by Benny3000

Bluecane

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev -4.1%

06-08-2013 02:41:32 | More by Bluecane

Doogermeister

Illinois

4.89/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Pours a very dark/dark amber almost black color.

Smell is mild when comparing it to a BCBS but has a similar aroma to it.

Taste is a much smoother more refined bourbon county. The beer I feel is like a grand reserve BCBS but with little bourbon barrel flavor. One of the greatest stouts I've ever had and at 50 dollars a pop, still well worth it.

The mouthfeel starts out thick then rapidly thins out due to high alcohol content. The mouthfeel isn't as thick or as syrupy as a BCBS. I feel that it is much more refined. In every way

King Henry is one of those super rare beers that should never be passed up at almost any price. It is a rare find and well worth the money. Best stout I've had, hands down.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2013 01:35:56 | More by Doogermeister

savagepm

Colorado

5/5  rDev +6.6%

06-06-2013 00:14:59 | More by savagepm

beernads

Florida

5/5  rDev +6.6%

06-05-2013 09:09:03 | More by beernads

hopazoid

Minnesota

5/5  rDev +6.6%

06-05-2013 02:01:40 | More by hopazoid

weaksauce

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev -4.1%

06-05-2013 01:59:33 | More by weaksauce

JerryM1984

Kentucky

5/5  rDev +6.6%

06-04-2013 02:00:25 | More by JerryM1984

redsand22

Illinois

5/5  rDev +6.6%

06-03-2013 19:02:50 | More by redsand22

marcgo2

Illinois

5/5  rDev +6.6%

06-03-2013 18:23:02 | More by marcgo2

millelacsmark

Minnesota

4.75/5  rDev +1.3%

06-03-2013 02:31:31 | More by millelacsmark

anhigdon

Kentucky

5/5  rDev +6.6%

06-01-2013 01:22:50 | More by anhigdon

writerLJBerg

Oregon

4/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle courtesy of claspada. Thanks! Reviewed from notes.

A: Placid dark mahogany color with a barely discernible head. Stains the glass with brown sludge.

N: Can smell the caramel and vanilla from halfway across the room. Lots of honey, brown sugar, and a touch of licorice. Candied pecans. Very well rounded.

T: Balanced and well put together. Lots of interplay between the sweetness of bourbon and the underlying bourbon. There's a slight cocoa to this and similar oak flavors to Sucaba. It's a natural for the style.

M: Rich, filling, and the alcohol is actually well-hidden.

O: This is a beer worth lingering over, but it's very much a dessert. In fact, after so much apparent praise above, the reason this isn't getting higher marks is that by the end of my half of the bottle, I'm fairly sick of drinking this. It's really good upon the first impression and through the first 4 oz, but this is not one that goes the distance for me.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2013 04:38:46 | More by writerLJBerg

stereosforgeeks

Virginia

4.75/5  rDev +1.3%

05-28-2013 16:20:55 | More by stereosforgeeks

CarolinaKevin

North Carolina

4.75/5  rDev +1.3%

05-26-2013 17:02:44 | More by CarolinaKevin

nrs207

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +1.3%

05-25-2013 01:14:37 | More by nrs207

weonfire

Illinois

4.31/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

Bottle date: 10/08/11

A - Dark Brown/Mahogany, tiny amount of head around rim, tiny amount of carbonation rising, zero head.

S - Sweet bourbon, vanilla, toffee, chocolate, carmel, brown sugar, touch of biscuit, aged fruits: prune, figs,

T - Bourbon, vanilla, toffee, chocolate. Finish: dry biscuit, bitter vanilla and booze (4/10)

M - Heavy, extremely thick, very full body, super cream, frothy, syrup, chest gets warm from booze

O - This is the heaviest, fullest, closest to syrup beer I've ever consumed. So much that it wasn't even drinkable until just about room temperature. Yes, the nose is excellent. The taste doesn't have the bourbon one would expect but is very pleasant, vanilla is very dry and bitter with a rather hot finish. No matter- the overwhelming characteristic is the over exceeding thickness, syrup. I cannot get past that.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 23:03:18 | More by weonfire