Captain Swing - Hopfenstark

rudzud

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Enjoyed at the Pro Pig in Waterbury, VT. Reviewed from notes.

A- Pours a clear honey hue with a one finger off white head that fades slowly to leave a thin, light blanket.

S - Light caramel, vanilla, candy sugar, and sweet malts. Hints of floral hops.

T - Taste is alot sweeter than I thought it would be. Very sweet malts, toffee, caramel, and some linger spicy hop bitterness. In fact, the sweetness really detracts from the overall beer experience.

M - Mouthfeel is not quite as smooth and creamy as I'd like in a barleywine, a hair too much carbonation for me.

O - Overall this is a decent enough barleywine, just a bit too sweet for my tastes. Almost cloyingly so.

Serving type: on-tap

04-10-2013 15:35:10 | More by rudzud

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.96/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Tap at Pro Pig in Waterbury.

Nice rich thick almost 1 finger head fades slowly with decent lacing, clear auburn orange color.

Nose sweet candy malts, toffee, caramel, candy sugar, sweet smelling, light spicy floral hops even.

Taste starts with sweet malts, quite sweet actually, biscuit toffee and nutty, caramel, candy syrup, light fruits, apple and pear like, nutty, etc, and plenty of coppery malts. Some warming slightly tingly booze, rich little creamy and fluffy carb. Some light spicy earthy hops, little grassy, chewy, and fairly bitter. Finish is fairly bitter lingering spicy hops, little sticky caramel syrupy toffee and candy lingering too.

Mouth is med to a but fuller bodied, fluffy carb, warming tingly booze.

Overall not bad, nice candy flavors and sweet malts, a nice American hopped character, but overall maybe a bit too sweet, almost cloying

Serving type: on-tap

03-01-2013 15:13:32 | More by jlindros

FeDUBBELFIST

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

$7.50 for a 10oz tulip
Sampled 22AUG12

[A] Served with a finger and a half of medium khaki head with a foamy texture. Considering the high ABV, lacing and head retention are both exceptional. The color of the body is smack dab in the middle of amber and ruby. Wonderful depth and magnifyingly clear.

[S] Dark fruits of dates and caramel infused figs. Alcohol soaked golden raisins. Lightly rendered caramel and buttery walnuts. Brown sugar after warming.

[T] The flavors echo what is projected on the nose. Alcohol is definitely noticeable, but it compliments the flavor profile instead of combatting it.

[M] Pleasant carbonation throughout, gently prickly and breaking up what might have been a sticky sweet texture. Just short of full bodied. Warming alcohol sets in around mid palate and adds some pronounced but welcomed heat at the end.

[O] Definitely a sleeper and certainly worth ordering if you come across it.

Serving type: on-tap

10-31-2012 00:17:00 | More by FeDUBBELFIST

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Mondiale 2009. A fairy good American style barleywine, with all the expected attributes. A hoppiness to it, also a bit astringency. Tasty and malty and taste as good as it smells. A ready to drink now barleywine, and its the hops and malt.I had this 3 years later at local option and about the same.

Serving type: on-tap

06-07-2009 22:12:33 | More by northyorksammy

JohnQVegas

Tennessee

4.15/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Draught at one of the American release events @ Beer Table, Brooklyn. Day 2.

Pours dark brown-copper, hazy, with a thick, dense off-white head on top that doesn't want to go away and offers some great stickage.

Nose is piney, a bit grassy, cocoa, nutty, maybe a bit toasty. Note a big nose by any means, but what's there is quite nice.

Taste starts off with big notes of dry cocoa, some rich nutty fruitcake, with lots of piny bitterness underpinning the whole ride. Very dry. Bit grassy towards the finish, prickly, with the piny hops really coming alive. Beautifully balanced, so complex. No booziness at all. Finish has a lot going on - toasty, biscuity malt, nutty cocoa, fruity, and of course, a nice dose of lingering piney bitterness.

Mouthfeel is full, creamy, with a crisp carbonation.

Serving type: on-tap

05-22-2009 13:34:39 | More by JohnQVegas