Old Prospector Barleywine
Auburn Alehouse Brewery & Restaurant

Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Auburn Alehouse Brewery & Restaurant
 
California, United States
Style:
English Barleywine
ABV:
10%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.6 | pDev: 16.94%
Reviews:
20
Ratings:
44
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 04, 2017
Added:
Apr 13, 2009
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  5
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.5 by 22Blue from Kansas

Feb 04, 2017
Photo of wethorseblanket
Reviewed by wethorseblanket from California

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Reviewed from notes. Pours a reddish-brown with a beige head that leaves spotty lace, Mostly caramel, toffee, and some woody notes. Taste follows the nose. Medium body.
Aug 28, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by MtOrion from Nebraska

Apr 23, 2016
 
Rated: 3.81 by mademers from Canada (QC)

Mar 03, 2016
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Ruddy brown, lots of dirt/sediment running at the bottom. Boozy aroma.

Taste had plenty of bitterness, caramel could have been sweeter to try and keep the peace. Too much dark fruit bitterness on this one. Wouldn't recommend unless someone likes their barleywines a little weird.
Dec 20, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by Spreetaper from New York

Jan 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.65 by SDRedDevil from California

Dec 28, 2014
Photo of UCLABrewN84
Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California

3.76/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
Thanks to drewone for sharing this one at GRG1313's tasting.

2014 vintage. Bottled 11/12/14.

Pours a clear reddish-brown with a foamy beige head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Foamy swaths of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, and wood aromas. Taste is much the same with caramel, toffee, brown sugar, red wine, and wood flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of wood bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a low level of carbonation with an almost flat and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with solid red wine barrel aged aspects that are slightly better in the smell.

Serving type: bottle.
Dec 02, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by GRG1313 from California

Dec 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4.04 by Rado from California

Nov 30, 2014
 
Rated: 2.8 by GClas from Virginia

Nov 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.88 by dominic4beer from California

Sep 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Powderhornphil from Minnesota

Jul 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by sia478 from Washington

May 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by willjschmidt from California

May 09, 2014
Photo of Alieniloquium
Reviewed by Alieniloquium from Florida

2.65/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
650 mL bottle poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Reddish brown body. No real head. Thin collar.

Smell - Caramel. Vinous notes. Vanilla. Kinda oaky.

Taste - Starts off nice. Oaky. Caramel. A little fruity. The finish is what kills it. Vigorous off flavor manifests itself as an intense bitterness.

Mouthfeel - Extremely bitter woody flavor. Medium carbonation. Astringent.

Overall - Started off ok, but ugh, it's rough in the back.
Mar 25, 2014
Photo of magictacosinus
Reviewed by magictacosinus from California

4.06/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
This was one of the many beers poured at the December Albany Taproom bottle share, courtesy of Darren. Poured out of a 22oz bottle into a tulip glass. 2012 vintage, I believe?

The appearance is not what I expected at all - dark, almost maroon in color with a very small, off-white head. The foam fizzles out almost completely - leaving behind no noticeable sticky lacing, although each swirl does coat the glass's edges with a briefly darkened sludgy texture. Hate to say it, but this looks really muddy and sludgy. Let's hope it smells and tastes better.

The aroma DOES indeed deliver a unique profile - and simply put, one of the most enjoyable and strangest profiles I've ever come across on a barleywine, particularly one that's barrel aged. This starts off with an immense amount of dried black fruits, ranging from prunes to cassis to blackberries, only then to dwell into some brief notes of peppercorns, slight black tea, and a variety of barrel spices - most notably, brown sugar and cloves. Then, there's a hyper-bizarre lactic flavor that comes through, as well as a bit of tartness, that's no doubt from the oak barrels used. Even if this is infected, it strangely works, as it accentuates the sweetness from the barrel spices and the fruity flavor from the malts and yeast. I had a jolly time whiffing this - it's pretty unique.

After a few sips, we were pretty convinced something went awry with the barrel aging process of this beer, but overall, it somehow works! First, there's the dark berry notes as mentioned earlier, with some spiciness, as well as a toffee, caramel, and brown sugar sweetness. Then, the lactic sugars take over like crazy upon the beer's profile, delivering a milk, sugar cream like consistency and funky cheese rind flavor that somehow melds really well with the fruits - in a way, this is the liquid equivalent of a blackberry cheese danish. There's no better way to describe it, but that's how it panned out. Grape must and tart, slightly vinegary flavors are at the finish, but it's otherwise pretty sweet, fruity, and decadent. Carbonation is surprisingly good after all this time, and it never feels sludgy or thick - rather, it's pretty vinous in quality overall, save for the extra carbonation. A really interesting, strange treat of a beer!

I was very surprised how much I liked this, but beer buyer beware: if you're not a big fan of red wine, or funky cheeses, you probably won't like this at all. There's a lot at stake here, and it's hard to know what exactly happened to this beer over time, but the results are very strange and truly unique. Recommended if you can find a bottle!
Mar 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Cirus from California

Feb 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by JohnF51 from California

Feb 10, 2014
Photo of Tony49er
Reviewed by Tony49er from California

3.61/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Serving Type- On tap at the Brewery poured into a tulip glass

Appearance- Dark reddish brown, off white head very thin which is expected at 10%ABV

Smell- Strong plums, dark cherries, sweet malty notes, wine type characters

Taste- Strong plums, dark cherries, sweet malty notes, wine type characters, smooth alcohol notes, not overpowering, great hop backbone

Mouthfeel- Smooth, full, easy sipping Barley wine, each sip makes you want another one

Overall- Another great beer from a Brewery that does not get enough credit this Barley wine was aged in local Zinfandel barrels I will buy a bottle or two and age them and hopefully they hold up and improve with age...CHEERS
Feb 10, 2014
Old Prospector Barleywine from Auburn Alehouse Brewery & Restaurant
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 44 ratings