Winter Warlock - Flat Earth Brewing Company

FakeDeniro

4.68/5  rDev +21.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A very clean look. Had a light golden amber color. Overall as with most BW had a complex smell. Where the more you smell it the more you can pick up. Spend some time and you can pick any of these: caramel malts, sweet sugars, toasted grains, light hops, apple, pear, citrus, slight alcohol, little cinnamon, doughy yeast and Toffee. A lot going on as you taste this beer. I sipped this 22oz bottle over 2 hours letting it warm up as time went buy. Maybe not a typical BW but I did in joy it over time as taste and flavors changed.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2012 16:01:16 | More by FakeDeniro

AndyP612

Illinois

4/5  rDev +3.9%

04-03-2013 02:45:34 | More by AndyP612

SaxmanRick

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +3.9%

02-10-2013 05:36:22 | More by SaxmanRick

cofeeguru

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -15.6%

02-02-2013 23:25:56 | More by cofeeguru

morimech

Minnesota

3.15/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Clear golden color with a massive head that had excellant retention. The head eventually settles to a thick cap. Moderate amount of sticky lacing is left down the glass.

Fuggle hop aroma. A little spicy with what seems like yeast phenols. Hints of brown sugar and caramelized malt.

Alcohol plays a big part in the flavor with plenty of heat. Relatively weak malt flavor for a barleywine. Some flavor of sugar. Moderately bitter with some grassy flavor. Tastes more Belgian than English.

Weak body but the carbonation does its best with what it is given.

I was expecting a much better, and bigger beer. Body is labeled at 10.1% ABV which is very surprising.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 19:18:02 | More by morimech

bootsandbeer

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +10.4%

01-24-2013 03:01:07 | More by bootsandbeer

HoistinBrews

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +3.9%

01-21-2013 00:31:37 | More by HoistinBrews

koes0024

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -22.1%

01-13-2013 20:28:25 | More by koes0024

SortaAmbivalent

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +3.9%

12-11-2012 10:56:11 | More by SortaAmbivalent

ObiWanKushnobi

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -2.6%

08-19-2012 22:58:06 | More by ObiWanKushnobi

Mjcanton

3.75/5  rDev -2.6%

04-09-2012 20:07:21 | More by Mjcanton

SpdKilz

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A big thanks to Aaron (laymansbeerfan) for this beer. Cheers!

Appearance – Pours a clear amber into a tulip with about a finger of slight off white head that dissipates quickly leaving spotty lacing.

Smell – Lots of caramel, toffee, slight green apple, brown sugar, white pepper, and bready malts.

Taste – Similar to the aroma. A slight bitter hop bite that is gone almost instantly. Lots of sweet caramel and toffee, mixed in with loads of breadiness, and a bit of pepper.

Mouthfeel – Medium bodied to lighter, decent carbonation, which it was a bit thicker.

Overall – Not really a barleywine in my opinion. Not sure what style this is, but it is a bit overly sweet in my opinion. I will say, it is easy to drink and for being over 10% this batch there is no alcohol taste and only slight warming. If you look at it as a winter warmer rather than a barleywine, I like it more. A decent beer on this cold night.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2012 01:35:39 | More by SpdKilz

stpaulsipper07

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +16.9%

03-29-2012 03:40:30 | More by stpaulsipper07

TubbyDullard

Minnesota

2/5  rDev -48.1%

03-12-2012 12:47:46 | More by TubbyDullard

MattyG85

Minnesota

3.8/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 22 oz. bottle into a Surly Darkness Chalice glass. 2011 Bottle.

Appearance: Pours a deep and clear golden copper with a moderate amount of bubbles. About two fingers of white head that quickly fade into a a few thin patches. Lacing is moderate.

Smell: Aroma of caramel malts, toffee, light citrus hops, and a very noticeable presence of sugar. Fairly bready and the hop presence is very light. A hint of alcohol. What stands out the most here is caramelized sugars.

Taste: A sweet mix of caramel malts and wheat grains with a hint of toffee and citrus. Lots of caramelized sugar. A little bit of earthy hop bitterness towards the finish. Fairly bready throughout. Sweet but not cloying.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate level of carbonation. Somewhat syrupy and sticky. Very smooth as the alcohol isn't really felt.

Overall: A good beer overall. Not really what I would expect from a barleywine but a interesting version.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2012 06:35:56 | More by MattyG85

laymansbeerfan

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -22.1%

02-16-2012 06:24:40 | More by laymansbeerfan

doucmehu

Wisconsin

3.38/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had this on cask, server told me it was very foamy and took 5 minutes to settle down. Wow, big pour into an imperial pint.

A: Hazy golden straw, a bit light looking for a BW. Minimal head, but what is there is very thick and creamy. Leaves lots of lacing on the glass.

S: Some esters and mild malt sweetness, alcohol.

T: Tons of alcohol masks the malts and what might be some floral hops. This has hints of barleywine in it, but the malts are too subdued (or overpowered) to really hit on target.

M: Tons of alcohol burn and creamy smooth malts. Not much carbonation left in this cask, but not detracting.

O: Alcohol heat was too overwhelming. As other reviews have pointed out, this is not that complex of a barleywine, and the body is a bit thin. Slightly above average beer, but for the style it is slightly below average.

Serving type: cask

02-09-2012 02:25:48 | More by doucmehu

Hopstout

Minnesota

3.55/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Light rusty amber with little head

Aroma - Apple/pear/citrus. Slight alcohol scent. A little cinnamon. doughy yeast. Toffee.

Taste - Very complex, layers of flavors. Peppery. Bready and biscuity. Caramel and orange. Brown sugar and cinnamon. Lightly bitter. A fine alcohol and hop finish.

Mouthfeel - medium carbonation, medium bodied. Light syrup. Very smooth.

Overall - Very good taste, not elite, but good. I only purchased one bomber of Winter Warlock but I am thinking that I would like this more with a second and third tasting.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2012 03:37:53 | More by Hopstout

FightingEntropy

Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On my first visit to Flat Earth recently, I picked up a growler of 2010 Winter Warlock. While a sample of WW at Winterfest in 2008 didn't impress, I found it hard to resist an aged barleywine.

Stark white head bubbles up nicely with a hard pour down the center and lingers for a fair bit until it falls to a light film. Old gold beer sets one off immediately from the name barleywine. I remember my first sample of WW and being surprised at how light it was in the glass. Holding up the beer, the effervescent bubbles flow long after the beer is poured, and very captivating to watch. The nose departs from expectations as well. No dark fruits, not heavy alcohol, no barleywine. I initially, especially when cold, smell creamed corn. I suspect that this smell, associated with American lagers turns off some beer geeks. With a bit of warmth and focus, it more of an heavy caramel and underdone biscuit with a floral and earthy hop. Description on Flat Earth says a two hour boil to caramelize the sugars, which is apparent in the taste with an earthy yet spicey bite from yeast and/or hops. Sweet lingering finish. 9% ABV is present but not pushy in nose or taste, but hits rather quickly in spite of the small glass I'm using tonight. Watch out--this one is sneaky!

In short, I like the beer. But I can see some of the mixed reviews on BeerAdvocate. First, issues with the expectation as a barleywine. Compared to an Old Crustacean, Old Guardian, Old Foghorn, Horn Dog, Blithering Idiot or even a J.W. Lees, it is an incredibility light beer and defies the category while being fun to drink. Warming more now, and cream corn (not a pleasant memory from my childhood) changes to a heavy earthiness. Again, if reviewers are drinking too fast or too warm, I think the review of this beer will be hurt. Next glass of this beer I'm going to let the beer sit out for a bit and warm up significantly before drinking it. Good beer, but not an all time favorite; however, it's also very fun to drink.

Serving type: growler

01-04-2012 03:13:09 | More by FightingEntropy

ALifeWellWasted

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +3.9%

12-27-2011 01:52:24 | More by ALifeWellWasted

tmcelvain

Minnesota

4.28/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This is an excellent example of an Barlweywine. Clear body with a medium head. A nose of full-bodied, spicy malts - almost English malt smell.
The taste is a dusty malt flavor, with an excellent balance of hop bitterness.
This is a very lively beer - with a tangy feel on the cheeks without being overly carbonated. A slight alcohol burn balances the bubbly. A light body with a big flavor profile makes this highly drinkable. One moment you are puzzling over the earthy/sweet yet bitter malt flavors, and the next you are puckering after a blast of hop flavor on the back end with a warming alcohol feel.
I'd love to share this difficult to get (only in growlers this year) beer from my neighborhood brewery, so BM me if you are a Barleywine fan and would like to set something up.

Serving type: growler

03-04-2011 21:27:05 | More by tmcelvain

joepais

Maine

3.95/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Santa for this
A 09 bottle poured into a tulip glass it produced a finger worth of white head that went to a good lace. The body of the brew was a clear copper color.

It had some nice hop aroma with some good sweet fruits as well. Not a hint of the alcohol was in the nose at all. The flavor was what I expect from a barley wine lightly sweet caramel with some nice fruits thrown in for good measure. It had a medium feel in the mouth with light carbonation making for a great sipper.

I would grab this again if it was available. Thanks Justin for the chance to try this one

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2010 23:18:03 | More by joepais

CRichardsMN

Minnesota

2.9/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

2009 Vintage

Appearance:
Very clear golden yellow with a ring of creamy head and light lacing.

Smell:
Very sweet grain (corn) and a hint of alcohol. No hops to be noted.

Taste:
Again, very one dimensionally sweet and a light aftertaste of alcohol. Would expect another note of bitterness or citrus or roasting and more alcohol (based on ABV) but it's not there.

Mouthfeel:
Light to medium carbonation and slightly syrupy. Medium body and coats the mouth slightly.

Drinkability:
Pretty dense and kinda boring so I am going to have a heck of a time polishing off the whole growler before it goes stale. One glass is good, but I'd not seek anything past that.

Comment:
Flat Earth is decent though not one of my favorites. The price is good and they let you sample all of the brews before you buy. One other warning is their tendency to "infuse" their brews, particularly the porter - some are good, some... not so much. Creative group, though, so I keep going back to see what they come up with.

Serving type: growler

01-17-2010 23:54:46 | More by CRichardsMN

gford217

Georgia

3.3/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750mL bottle courtesy of Maximum12 poured into a tulip. The ABV is listed as 10.1% on this bottle FWIW.

The pour is much lighter than I was expecting, a clear golden amber with an enormous fluffy white head that recedes very slowly, leaving very good lacing. It's a great looking beer, but certainly not what I was expecting.

The aroma continues with the theme of unexpected and has a very light fruity aroma with only a little bit of caramel malts. Some sweet sugars, toasted grains and hops round things out. Not too impressed with the aroma.

The flavor is light with lots of sugar and toasted grains. Again, not much in the way of caramel malts or dark fruits. I get a little bit of light fruits, maybe peaches. It's a weird flavor to get from a "barleywine."

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and almost syrupy with the massive sugar presence. Sticky.

This is one of the weirdest barleywines I've ever tasted. In fairness, it would make for a decent golden Belgian ale. Even then, it's a fairly unimpressive beer with very little complexity underneath the heavy sugar presence.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2009 01:19:52 | More by gford217

maximum12

Minnesota

3.3/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Picked up a bottle of this big beer from Flat Earth late this winter. All of their beers I've tried to date have been good but not great, so I'm hoping Winter Warlock will break that trend.

Big honkin' 25 oz. bomber poured into two pints glasses. Golden retriever color, with evident carbonation doing a NASCAR upwards. Smell is unimpressive, like a grassy wheat beer? What the hell? A hefebarleywine?

A very sweet barleywine is the overarching theme. Sugary, with that hint of grassy wheatness, I swear, coming from someplace. That's about it. Very simple brew with no apparent alcohol. This could be a gateway brew for the craft-challenged with it's simple profile & gentle sweetness.

Pretty good brew, but not much going on here. I'd love to see some more complexity coming out of this to offset the sweetness - malts, hops, something to give it a bit of depth.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2009 01:32:30 | More by maximum12